An Ocean Away
by Savannahbobanna
Summary: Twins Ansel and Allegra live very different lives. Ansel lives in Forks, eagerly anticipating the day he will become a werewolf. Allegra lives in Volterra, loving the life of a Volturi guard member. The problem is, they have no idea they're related.
1. Chapter 1

**SO, my dears... this right here is the last story of the series, and it's going to be amazing. There are some crazy things I've come up with, so hold onto your hats! AND just in case you're lost... this is the fourth story in the Twist of Fate series... because that happens sometimes :)**

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"_Mister Black_," said my Trig teacher, Mr. Carlson. My mom had the same teacher when she was in school, and I had heard many horror stories. She told my not to get on his bad side, but I didn't really listen. I frequented his detention list almost as much as my mom did. But, just like her, I usually could talk myself out of it.

The night before I had stayed up with my dad, Jack, my mom, Axelle, and my Uncle Emmett. We were always competing against each other. The vampires versus the werewolves, we always joked. I wasn't a werewolf yet, but my dad said the day would come soon enough. We were playing Dance Dance Revolution, and my dad and I had lost miserably. We couldn't move as fast as they could, not at all. We played for a good four hours, and we didn't end until four in the morning.

That was why I fell asleep in Trig. "Mr. Black, if you insist on sleeping in my class, be courteous and don't snore!" bellowed Mr. Carlson.

I knew for a _fact_ I didn't snore. "I didn't snore... sir," I said, smiling smugly. If there was one thing you didn't do to Mr. Carlson, it was talk back. His face turned bright red.

"Detention, young man!" he exclaimed.

"But I have practice! You can't possibly think we can bench the captain!" I had basketball practice, and if I missed it I'd be benched for the next game. I played just about every sport in the book. My parents couldn't see my games, though. All the people they went to school with had kids just a little younger than I did... they'd be bound to run into someone, and it'd be hard to explain why they still looked exactly the same as they did back in high school.

Mr. Carlson frowned. He loved the athletes. I'm sure he wouldn't have even considered giving me detention if I were like the other jocks. The stupid, thick-headed guys on the team were fun to hang out with sometimes, but if you wanted to talk to them about anything that didn't have to do with the score of last nights game, or about how the girls look in their cheerleading outfits, their brains would shut down. They'd laugh, punch you in the arm, and then walk away.

I was also smart, which confused Mr. Carlson even more. I was a _smart_ jock? To him, it was the biggest oxymoron of them all.

Everyone in the class had their eyes glued on us.

Mr. Carlson raised an eyebrow. "Talk to me after class."

I heaved a sigh of relief. That meant he would let me off the hook. He just didn't want an audience.

He launched back into his lecture about his days in the navy, totally avoiding the subject he was supposed to teach altogether.

"Close one, Ansey," whispered a girl sitting behind me. Her name was Amber, and she couldn't go two hours without calling me by some odd nickname.

"Don't call me Ansey," I groaned.

She giggled. "Don't be silly."

I shook my head. I took her on a date once... and it wasn't the wisest move. When I first met her, it seemed we'd be able to get along great. She told me she liked sports, but she didn't. She told me she liked all of the bands I liked, but she didn't. When I broke up with her, she wasn't even phased. She went along calling me "Ansey" and "Ansaroony", and I couldn't do anything about it. She wasn't mean or anything, she just wasn't the girl for me.

When the bell rang, I waited around until everyone left. Carlson let me off, just like everyone in the class knew he would.

I was ambushed once I left the classroom, however.

"Did you _really_ stand up to him, Ansel?" It was Kris, a _different_ ex-girlfriend. She, much like Amber, said what she thought I wanter to hear... but of course, I didn't want to hear it. She was pretty, though, and everyone thought I had dated her just for her looks.

"Yes, Kris! It was terrifying!" I exclaimed sarcastically., pushing my long, black hair out of my face. "He threatened expulsion, but I gave him the what for!" I grinned, almost positive she'd know I was joking.

She didn't. "He _did_? Oh, I'm sure it was much scarier that you are letting on. You're so modest," she said in all seriousness.

I resisted the urge to laugh out loud. Modest was _not_ the way to describe me. Honest, yes. Modest, no. When Dad and I got into it with Mom and Emmett... my dad and I bragged like there was no tomorrow. I also knew I was the best athlete the school had ever seen, and everyone knew I knew. The years with Emmett had rubbed off on me, and I would never hesitate to throw out some cocky remark if someone was being particularly stupid.

When I walked into English, I sat down in my usual seat at the back of the room. It was one of the only classes that I dreaded. Sure, the actual learning was great, but the girl that sat next to me... she drove me insane. She had only been in Forks for a few weeks, and she hadn't really found her niche yet.

She waltzed in just after the bell rang, not worried about what the teacher would think. We were spending the week working on our own independent projects which, loosely translated, meant that nobody was doing any work at all.

When she wasn't glaring daggers at me, she was actually very pretty. Her dark, curly hair fell to the middle of her back. She was smiling slightly. When her green eyes shifted to me, though, it all changed. She looked like a Greek goddess, but she had the worst attitude.

She sat next to me, on the very edge of her chair.

I tried to be friendly, but she wouldn't buy it. "Hello, Athena," I said, smiling my best smile. I had dazzled plenty of girls with that smile.

She glanced at me. "Is there something you want, Ansel?"

I shook my head. "Nope, just being friendly."

She turned away and fished a book out of her bag without saying anything. I couldn't figure out why she hated me so much. I was always nice to everyone, no matter who they were. Sometimes I was a bit of a smart ass, but that wasn't really her problem. It was irritating when Athena treated me like dirt.

I leaned forward and read over her shoulder. If she already hated me and there was nothing I could do to right it, I knew that I'd have fun messing with her. The time I spent with Uncle Emmett really prepared me for that.

She ignored me for as long as she could, but finally, she slammed her book down on the table.

"Why'd you do that? We were just getting to the good part!" I exclaimed.

She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. "You're infuriating," she murmured.

"_I'm _infuriating? At least I don't go around hating people I don't know for no reason at all!" I exclaimed.

"At least I don't date every person in Forks," she said, her voice rising.

My mouth fell open. Yes, it was true... I dated a lot of people. But the entire town of Forks? That was a _little_ extreme.

"And true, I don't know you... I don't think I ever _want_ to know you!" she yelled.

"You're worked up because I've dated a lot? Why does that even _matter_ to you? You don't know anyone here!"

Everyone in the class was looking at us, including the teacher. He loved getting into the student drama, though, so I knew he wouldn't stop us.

"Well... fine!" she yelled. She picked up her bag and stormed out of the room.

Our teacher started to clap. "I've got the best idea for my novel now!" he sang. He turned to his laptop and started typing furiously.

I put my head in my hands.

"Oh, poor Ansel. That girl... she's so rude!" exclaimed one of my ex-girlfriends, no doubt. There were a few in all of my classes. True, they were _ex_-girlfriends, but they all still thought I was the bee's knees. I was just happy none of us ended on bad terms. I might have been considered a bit of a player, but I wasn't _intimate_ with any of them or anything. They were mostly just dinner dates. I was always a gentleman, though. If there was one thing I learned in my family, it was how to be a gentlemen, no matter what kind of relationship I was in.

But my dating history had made someone angry at me, someone I didn't even know! The only other person that had ever been truly angry at me was Uncle Emmett, and that was only because I cheated at Monopoly... and every other board game I had ever played with him.

I sighed and pulled out all the things for my independent project. Being disliked was going to take some getting used to.

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**Review, I'LL BEAT THIS STUPID GUY ON KINGDOM HEARTS!**

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	2. Chapter 2

_Meanwhile, an ocean away..._

"Allegra!" called Felix from the city walls. All the animals I had painstakingly lured towards me scattered, leaving me alone on the soft grass of the Italian country side. I sighed. Felix knew that I didn't like to be interrupted, but he would do it anyway. Aro had warned him about what would happen if I wasn't allowed to practice in peace, but once again, Felix didn't care. He liked pushing my buttons.

I got up swiftly and ran towards Volterra. It must've been time to eat, for Heidi was talking about how she was going "fishing" that morning. She slipped on her shortest skirt, her tightest shirt, and left, promising that she'd come back with some food. It was slightly revolting, the way that she would get the humans to go with her.

I couldn't deny my thirst, though. It had been a few weeks since I was able to feed, and I'd only been a vampire for six months. The burning in my throat had grown stronger as the days went on. I was kept away from humans for the most part. Demetri and Felix each kept an eye on me whenever I was forced to interact with them, and when it was clear I was uncomfortable, they'd quickly remove me from any situation.

I was expecting the thirst before I was changed, though. I knew it would be hard, and I knew my thirst would always be one of my top priorities. I could restrain myself if I tried hard enough. I figured it was just because I knew what being a vampire was going to be like before I was one.

I slowed down as I approached the city gates. Felix was there waiting for me.

"I'm sorry I had to interrupt you," he said.

"No, you aren't," I replied, smiling slightly.

"No, I'm not," he agreed. "Heidi's back."

I nodded.

We walked in comfortable silence to the meeting room, where Heidi had led the unfortunate few who were going to become our meal. Demetri was waiting for us at the door. We took our usual spot, at the front of the circle, and waited for the okay to eat. Our food was passed out on the ground. It was the most humane way.

"How was it?" he asked. His deep voice was nice, soothing. "Any responses?"

"No, it was uneventful," I answered truthfully. "Felix scared them away before I could get anything out of them."

Demetri chuckled. "Always in the way, that one."

Felix threw a punch at Demetri's arm, but he caught it, and twisted Felix's arm around. He was one of the fastest people I knew, and that was saying a lot considering all the people I knew were vampires.

Heidi sauntered over, still in her tight clothing. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Everyone knew she was stunning. She didn't have to flaunt it. Her purple eyes, which had always made me feel uncomfortable, were trained on Demetri.

"Hi, Demetri," she said, smiling her devastatingly beautiful smile. She ran her hand through her long, mahogany hair. I was immediately self conscious. My hair, which was black and waved most of the way down my back, was nothing compared to her's.

Demetri frowned. "Hello, Heidi. Nice fishing."

"Thanks." She glanced at me, and her expression fell. "Allegra," she greeted, then walked away.

"Nice to see you, too," I murmured.

"She doesn't mean any harm," said Demetri so quietly that only I could hear.

Heidi never liked me. When I was a little kid, she never talked to me. She always left when I came into the room.

Jane was behind me just a second later. "Let's put hair dye in her shampoo," she whispered. Jane was the closest thing I had to a best friend. She spent the most time around me while I was growing up.

I grinned. "She'd smell it."

"Not if we told her it was new, special shampoo that was guaranteed to make hair shiner than it's ever been. The smell just means it works."

"Pink dye," I said, trying not to laugh.

"We're doing it tomorrow."

I nodded. Aro entered the room, then, and everything went quiet. He told us we could start eating.

After we ate, Demetri and I went to the library. We always spent our evenings there. None of the other members of the guard even liked the library in the castle, and I considered it _our_ spot. We would light the fire, and talk about anything we could think of.

Being full was pleasant, there was no doubt about that, but it also made me feel guilty. I had been raised for my entire life to believe that humans were there simply to sustain us. I knew now that they were more than that, and each time I fed the guilt got a little worse. I had read books by humans, about humans, and they had all the same emotions, all the same feelings as _we_ did. They were just like us.

"Demetri," I asked quietly.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Are there... are there any other options? I feel so guilty, Demetri. I... I don't like eating humans," I explained. It was something I had thought long and hard about, but just recently had the courage to discuss with anyone.

He cleared his throat, but didn't answer.

"Oh, well, if it makes you uncomfortable," I whispered, looking into my lap.

"No, no," he said quickly. "There is another option."

"Really? What is it?"

"Well, we can survive on the blood of animals, but it is nowhere near as satisfying." He wouldn't look at me.

I laughed. "Are there any of us that _do_ that?" I asked incredulously. The idea sounded ludicrous.

"Yes," he said reluctantly. "There is a rather large clan that lives that lifestyle. They reside in the Pacific Northwest, the United States."

I smiled wistfully. "How odd. I think I'd like to try that."

"Figures," he muttered.

I ignored him. "I wonder if they would mind letting me try it with them. I mean, here it would be dreadfully hard. Imagine the temptation. But there, where everyone does it... oh," I sighed.

"You can't go there," said Demetri firmly.

I frowned. "What's wrong?"

He stood up. "Listen to me, Allegra Ava Black. You are not to go there. For my sanity, and most certainly yours, too."

For the first time in my entire life, I had the urge to stomp my foot like the seventeen-year-old I was. "Who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Shouldn't you stay here, practicing your power?" he asked, an exaggerated calmness in his every word.

"I am _sick_ and tired of 'practicing my power,'" I murmured. "I don't even know what good it will be... what kind of help is he expecting from them?"

When I was changed, Aro was almost frantic to find out what my power was. Soon enough, we found out I could control the will of any animal I chose. Aro was ecstatic, but I saw no use for my power. He told me that I was to practice every day, no matter what. Demetri didn't even know what his plan was.

Demetri shook his head. "I am sorry I yelled at you, Allegra. Perhaps I can explain it to you later, but now is not the time." He gazed into the fire.

I knew not to push it. Demetri was incredibly wonderful most of the time, but he also had a temper. He had only lashed out at me once or twice, and I hated it.

He dismissed himself soon after. Sometimes Demetri needed to be alone, so I stayed in the library. There was something I wanted to do, anyway...

As soon as the coast was clear, I drifted over to the computer. Just like the library, nobody really used the computer, either. Aro got it in one of his attempts to modernize, but nobody used it.

I went to the only search engine I knew, and typed in my full name. I found a birth registry website, and my mouth fell open. Allegra Ava Black, daughter of Jack and Axelle Black, was born in Forks, Washington. That was in the Pacific Northwest... One entry lower, just under my name, was the name of another person born on the same day, just a minute before I was. Ansel Astaire Black... my twin brother.

"Demetri!" I called. He had some explaining to do.

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	3. Chapter 3

_Meanwhile, An Ocean Away..._

"And now, for the winning point..." said Axelle dramatically. "Who was the most celebrated knight of the Round Table?"

"Ding!" I yelled. We didn't have buzzers, and we were playing trivia. It was Emmett against me this round, and we were tied. He almost broke our kitchen table when he lost the point that evened us out.

Emmett glared at me.

"Sir Lancelot du Lac," I answered quickly.

"Dammit!" yelled Emmett. He stormed out of the house a second later. He was a terrible loser.

"We have a winner!" announced my mom in her game show host voice. "Today's winner will take home a new car, a new house, a yacht, and a trip to the Caribbean!"

"Really?" I asked. They always did strange things like that. Once they whisked me off to Hawaii for two weeks with only an hour's notice.

My mom laughed harshly. "No, you crazy!"

Jack joined in.

"Hey, hey, hey, none of that! You guys are just ridiculous enough to do it," I said defensively.

"Okay, smarty," said Jack. "It's eleven, and if you don't get your sleep _we'll_ have to go down to school and... I don't know, have a parent teacher conference, or something."

"Glad to hear you care," I said, grinning. "And while you're at that parent teacher conference, I can play on the playground! Oh, and color with chalk, too." The last time I had a conference I was five, and my grandpa Jacob was _actually _the one to go. My mom and dad were too well known still.

"You didn't play with chalk. You were too busy riding around in your cool little car," said my mom. "It was _the_ coolest toy I've ever seen."

"I had one of those? Where is it?" I asked.

"Up in the attic," replied my dad, shrugging.

"Excellent!" I turned and ran towards my bedroom. You could get into the attic through a door in my closet.

"Ansel, Ansel, Ansel!" exclaimed my mom. She stopped me as I was sprinting up the stairs.

"Yeah?"

My dad was right behind her. "There are... spiders up there! It's infested, actually. We need to call someone. I just wouldn't go up there if I was you," he said quickly.

I laughed. "That explains all my spider infested clothes!" The door to the attic was always open a crack, and if there were any spiders I would have known.

I ignored their protests, and pulled down the ladder in my closet. It was a bit dusty, but there was not a spider in sight. The car was there alright, but I couldn't find the charger I spotted a few boxes labeled "kid stuff", and pulled them open. If it was anywhere, it'd be in one of those.

What I wasn't expecting was a box full of baby girl clothes.

"Mom?" I called, keeping my eyes fixed on the box.

"I'm right here," she said quietly from behind me. She and Jack were standing just inside. They both looked devastated.

I turned around, the little pink outfit in my hands. "Why do we have these?"

My mom didn't answer.

"We didn't know if you were a boy or a girl before you were born. We wanted it to be a surprise," said my dad, his voice rough.

"Oh... well, have you seen the charger for this puppy? I know I wouldn't fit in it, but just look at how cool it is! Emmett and I could find some way to have fun with this." I changed the subject. Something was wrong, and I knew it had to do with the baby clothes. There was something they weren't telling me, which had never happened before. We were always honest with each other, no matter what.

At school the next day, I still couldn't shake off the uneasy feeling. During our early morning practice, I missed every shot I made. Mr. Carlson asked me a question, and I got the complete wrong answer. It wasn't until English that I snapped out of it.

Athena was at our table before I got there. She was reading her book again, and wouldn't look up. I sat down, and stared into space. I had never, ever experienced what I was feeling. I saw myself, reflected in the window, and frowned. My wavy black hair looked just like my dad's. My pale skin was just a shade darker than my mom's. I got my eye color from my mom, and my height from my dad.

"Enjoying yourself, Narcissus?" asked Athena.

"I've not fallen in and drowned yet, thank you very much," I snapped.

"And I hope you're not in love with your sister." She smirked.

"I don't _have_ a sister, so that doesn't work at all."

For the first time, she seemed like she actually might laugh. She stopped herself at the last second, though, and turned her attention back to her book.

"I'm not going to fall for it, Ansel," she murmured.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I sighed.

She glanced up, her green eyes skeptical. "Sure."

"No, really. I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. "Could you explain it to me? I mean, what exactly are you not going to fall for?"

She clenched her jaw. "I'm not going to fall for your stupid little games."

"I'm really not like that, Athena," I said. "But you don't have to believe me. I mean, I could care less about my reputation. If everyone's talking about what a player I am, then it just must be true, right? And because I'm such a player, that must mean that I'm a bad person, and that I deserve to be punished, right?"

"Do you know what it's like, Ansel? Have _you_ ever dated a player?"

"I've not had the privilege," I said, shrugging.

She shook her head.

"So I'm guessing we aren't going to be friends. I mean, even though you hardly know me, and even though _I_ hardly know you, and even though you're the only person I know that would ever reference Greek mythology, it's just not going to happen."

"Nope," she said. "Tons of people know about Greek mythology, and I _do_ know you."

"No, Athena, you don't. You don't know that my favorite color is green, that the people in my family are my best friends, or that I happen to think that you're incredibly pretty when you're angry. So no, you don't know me."

Her mouth popped open, and she didn't say anything.

The bell rang then, at the perfect moment, and I walked out of the room. She sat there, watching me leave. I didn't like Athena at all... but for some reason, I knew I had to have her.

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	4. Chapter 4

Demetri rushed into the room, followed closely by Jane. She must have known what was going on, too. She had been with the Volturi for ages before I got there.

I stood up and pointed at the computer. "What is this?" I whispered.

"What is what?" Demetri asked smoothly.

Jane crossed the room and took my hand. "Come on, Allegra. Let's go get the hair dye... remember?" She was trying to distract me.

I shook my head. "Allegra Ava Black, daughter of Jack and Axelle Black, was born in Forks, Washington," I whispered. "And I have a _twin_." The hand that Jane held shook.

"Allegra... we couldn't tell you," insisted Demetri.

"Yes. Aro told us it was forbidden," said Jane, squeezing my hand reassuringly.

I ripped my hand from hers, and quickly moved to sit in front of the fire. It danced playfully in the hearth, and for one moment I wondered if it would hurt too terribly if I were to touch it. Sure, I'd heard all the horror stories, but I just wondered... I kept myself from reaching out.

Jane was behind me in an instant. She ran her hands through my hair. In public, and around the rest of the guard, Jane was quiet, and obeyed Aro's every word. She was tough, strict, and completely different from how she was in private. When she was around Demetri and I, she felt like she could relax. She really was just a girl at heart, and she loved having someone accept her for her soft side, and not her increadibly scary and painful side.

Demetri sat beside me. "Allegra, I know you're curious about it and everything, but don't even think about touching that fire."

I smiled. My friends knew me so well. "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, much more calm than I was just moments before.

"We don't live like them," he answered, shrugging.

I frowned. "That's not a very good reason at all."

"It's good enough for Aro," sighed Jane. She had braided my hair three times in the past minute.

"How did I even _get_ here? I don't remember them," I admitted.

Demetri looked behind me, towards Jane, and they shared a look. Jane got up and left the room without a word. Demetri put his arm around me.

"Are you sure you want to know?"

I nodded.

He pulled me in closer. I rested my head against his shoulder. "When your mother was young, she was raised by the other coven of vampires. They are called the Cullens, and they live in the United States. She was a human, and as you know, humans are a threat. She could have exposed the entire race. One of the vampires there, Edward is his name, is always up for initiation into the Volturi. Aro asks him to join every few years. He accidentally shook Aro's hand on his last visit. Everything about Axelle was exposed. Aro was livid, and was prepared to send out a team to eliminate her immediately. Edward said he would save us a trip. He'd bring the girl to us. He made good on his promise, and a few weeks later, he brought Axelle to Volterra.

"Aro gave her the choice to become a vampire, of course. We didn't need the Cullens as our enemies. We were all set to change her when Marcus saw that she had a relationship that we could not break. It was the relationship between a mother and her child... children, actually. She was having twins. We didn't tell her. She promised to return after you guys were settled. Aro threatened her, of course... She would _have_ to return.

"When you and your brother were only three months old, Aro called your mom. He made sure that the rest of the family was out of town. It was only your mom, dad, brother, and you. They came as soon as possible. Aro told her that he could pick off each member of her family one by one if she didn't. She had no choice but to bring both of you. She got off of the plane first, and she had you in her arms." He paused.

"Keep going," I breathed.

"You're not going to like this," he admitted. The firelight cast shadows across his face.

"I figured."

"When she got off the plane, Felix took your mother while I held you. We led her to the car. She was... distraught. I will never forget her face. The look of absolute _heartbreak _was maddening. In the car she asked to hold you. I convinced Felix that it was okay. We even let her call your dad, Jack was his name, and tell him to stay away. When we got to the judging room, Aro told her that there was no hope. He told me to take you away while he did the dirty work. I stayed with you, completely mortified, for the three days while your mother was changed. I had no idea what to do with a baby! After awhile, Jane took you. I knew she wanted to raise herself a little friend, so she was the one who probably had the biggest hand in raising you."

Demetri was strangely absent for a large portion on my life. It was just in the last three years that he and I had actually become close. In some ways, we were closer than Jane and I were. I talked to him about literature, about science, current events, _everything_ we could think of. When I looked at him, I couldn't help but feel a little giddy. He was the only person who ever made me feel like I was more than a little plaything.

"I remember." My first memory was playing patty cake with Jane. She laughed, and I laughed, and it was one of the sweetest memories I had. "What happened then?"

"Her grandfather and dad came to pick her up. She tried to get you back, but they convinced her not to. They told her it'd end up hurting the entire family. We were too powerful for them. She took your brother..."

"Ansel," I provided.

"Ansel, and they have raised him in Forks ever since," he finished.

"And they haven't even come looking for me?" I asked hotly.

"They thought you were dead," he murmured.

"But I'm not! We have to go show them I'm not!" I stood up and started walking to the door.

Demetri grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Allegra, no," he said shortly.

I spun around to face him. "You tell me that my real family is out there, and that they don't even have to eat _people_, and you think I'm not going to go?"

"You can't even remember them..." there was something wrong. He looked right into my eyes.

"But, they are my _family_."

"No, Allegra. Felix, Jane, and I are your family." He didn't mention Aro. Even though we never said it, we never really enjoyed Aro. We were deeply loyal to him, but he was a demanding, attention-seeking, power maniac. It was a hard relationship.

I looked away from his gaze. I felt guilty. I didn't remember them, but that didn't mean I was curious. I still wanted to see them, my real family.

"Please?" I asked, still looking at my feet. "You know I love you guys... but I just need to know."

He tilted my chin up with his finger. He looked at me for a moment. "Fine," he said quietly.

I had the sudden urge to kiss him. I had never, ever kissed anyone before, and even thinking about it made me nervous. I knew I was being irrational, but I couldn't help it.

Demetri grinned. He cupped my face in his hands, and leaned in. He always knew what I was thinking... He paused when our lips were just an inch apart, as if he making sure what we were about to do was really okay. I closed the distance between us in a second.

"I just- Oh my God!" exclaimed Jane. We broke apart instantly. I was horrified, and Demetri was smiling sheepishly. If I could blush, I would be beat red.

"I just wanted to know when we were leaving!" she was covering her eyes, and I could see the effort she was making in her attempts not to smile. She wasn't very successful.

I glanced at Demetri, but looked down quickly. Sometimes, I could be devastatingly shy. He took my hand.

"We'll leave tomorrow," he answered.

Jane nodded, and left the room.

Demetri lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. "Sorry for embarrassing you," he murmured. "I'm going to go tell Aro we're leaving."

I watched him go. Aside from the whole getting interrupted, and not to mention extremely embarrassed, I was pretty sure kissing Demetri was one of the best urges I had ever had.

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	5. Chapter 5

_Meanwhile, an ocean away..._

"See you, Man Floozy," said Athena as she left the classroom. It was the last period of the day, and I wasn't really paying enough attention to say anything back. It had been two days since I found the baby clothes, and I was still wondering about them. My parents had acted _very_ strange when I asked them. My mom didn't even say anything... and my dad sounded upset.

I shook my head and collected my school work. I had to hurry to the locker room. I knew I had been thinking about the clothes too much. Probably _over _thinking them, too. It was giving me a really bad headache.

As I pulled off my jeans and stepped into my basketball shorts, my headache got steadily worse. By the time the coach called us onto the court, my entire head was pounding. I tried to shrug it off, and I thought I was doing well with hiding it. I wasn't, obviously. Every time the ball hit the ground, I was rocked by a tremor of pain.

"Black!" yelled Coach Hudson. I cringed. His deep voice echoed loudly all over the gym. "If you're not feeling well, you get the hell off the court. We need you at your best tomorrow!"

I nodded, and jogged back to the locker room. The goodbyes of my teammates were lost as my stomach started to feel unsettled. I didn't even bother to change back into street clothes. I just needed to lie down and sleep.

I floored my car as soon as I got in. I needed to get home. I felt worse as the seconds ticked by.

By the time I got home, my head began to swim. I stumbled into the house. I was so dizzy, I would have fallen right over if my dad didn't catch me by the arm. It was very unlike me. Being the absolutely fantastic athlete I was, I was hardly ever clumsy. His normally burning hot hand felt oddly cool.

"Ansel?" He sounded _very_ concerned. His hand graced my forehead.

"I don't..." I mumbled. The room wouldn't stop spinning, and that combined with the pounding in my head made it hard to even speak.

"Axelle, it's time!" he yelled. He gripped my arm tightly, and pulled me out the front door. I felt my mom's ice fingers on my arm. My stomach churned. They led me into the forest that surrounded our entire house.

"What am I supposed to do?" I gasped. My hair fell into my eyes.

"Ansel, listen to me. This is going to be _the most_ horrifying moment of your life. I'll be there to help you," said Jack. "Axelle, move."

She stepped aside, and he ran about thirty feet away. Right before my eyes, he burst into a massive black wolf. I stumbled backwards, shocked. I had never seen my dad in his wolf form. We had always been too busy competing against Axelle and Emmett to do anything. I was hardly even prepared.

Jack looked at my mom, and she nodded. They always shared glances like that. They were so close, it was like they could have a conversation without saying a single word.

"Ansel," she said quietly.

"What?" I whispered. Anything louder would probably cause my head to explode.

"I need you to stay very calm. I'm here, and your dad is right over there. We will not leave you."

My hands started to shake violently and my heart beat faster and faster. "Is it happening? Am I changing?" I asked excitedly. My breathing hitched up a notch.

"Yes, Ansel. You a-."

I didn't hear her finish her sentence. All I heard was the most horrid ripping noise. It felt like my skull split in two. I knew the first time was the worst time, but I had no idea it would be like this. My bones were being stretched, and I was sure they were going to snap. It seemed like in that single second, a million years had gone by.

And then I heard my dad in my head.

_Ansel, Ansel, Ansel, can you hear me?_ thought Jack.

I couldn't figure out how to answer. All the thoughts swimming in my head made me confused. They were a combination of mine, and my fathers. Soon, another voice joined the commotion.

_It happened?_ It was my Grandpa Jacob. He didn't look very much like a grandpa. I knew he tried to let himself age, but every once in a while he had to change. Julie, my grandma, only looked a few years older than him.

_Yes, but he's...you know,_ replied my dad.

I moved and was surprised at just how fast I was. I shot past my mom in less than a second.

_Cool!_ I thought. Despite the whole bone-chilling, brain-throbbing, stomach-churning part of turning for the first time, I was kind of enjoying myself.

I was hyper-aware of everything around me. The smell of the rain in the trees was magnified a hundred percent. There was something... slightly icy about the air, but it wasn't all that unpleasant.

_It's because he's been around it so long,_ thought my dad. _The smell is so familiar to him._

There was someone running beside me... my dad. And my mom was on the other side. I looked down at her, and she smiled encouragingly.

_We are the strangest family_, I thought.

Images flashed through my dad's mind. My mom was human, pregnant. She was _huge_. There was a motorcycle, and then a hotel in Las Vegas. There were two cribs, two strollers. And in my dads arms, smiling and happy as can be, were two babies.

I stopped running.

_Two. There are two. Where is the other one? Is one of those babies me? What happened?_ I couldn't _stop_ thinking. There were two of us! I knew that was me, but I had no clue who the other baby was!

_Ansel, calm down. _My grandpa's voice held such a note of authority, I stopped instantly. _Explain, Jack._

_I'm going to wait for him to phase back... Axelle will want to talk to him about it. Just calm down, Ansel._ My dad was trying not to think about the two babies again. _Leave, Jacob._

I was still shaking. I looked down at my mom. She was gazing at Jack, a very confused expression on her face. She ran her hands through her long, blond hair. She was worried.

"What's going on?" she asked.

My ran a few feet away, so he was hidden by the trees, and then ran right back to my mom. He was wearing just his jeans.

Just seeing the two of them standing there, and seeing the look of desperation and sadness on my mom's face calmed me down. Jack took her face in her hands and lowered his lips to her ear. He was talking so quietly, even I couldn't hear it.

When she turned to face me, the despair on her face... it was heart-wrenching. Without exactly knowing what happened, I phased back to my human form. Jack produced a pair of jeans and threw them at me. I slipped them on.

"What is going on?" I asked quietly. My hands shook.

My mom sank to the ground. She put her head in her hands. Jack sat next to her, and pulled her into his chest. She looked like she'd be crying if she could.

"Tell," she whispered.

Jack looked up at me. "You had a twin sister, Ansel."

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	6. Chapter 6

_Meanwhile, an ocean away..._

The following morning, Demetri, Jane, and I told Aro we were leaving. He was in the meeting room, as usual. He was surrounded by his personal bodyguard.

"We're just going out for a few weeks," said Demetri. "We've all got the wandering urge, I'm afraid."

Jane nodded. "Yes. We've never been to the Antarctica, and we'd really, really, really like to go."

"I _love_ penguins," I added.

Aro smiled. "You are free to come and go as you please, you know."

"If you need us, you know how to contact me," said Demetri.

"I don't have anything planned, so you should be free to wander as long as you would like," said Aro.

"Excellent," said Demetri.

We turned and hurried towards our rooms. We had our bags packed, our flights booked, and no plan at all for what we were going to do when we got there. Demetri said we could wing it, but I wasn't so sure. If there was one thing I _didn't_ want to do, it was surprise a coven full of vampires. There were so many of them, and only three of us.

Just before we left, I heard Heidi shriek. "What did you do to my _hair_?" she screamed. She sprinted around the corner and stopped short in front of Jane and me. Her normally luxurious hair was hot pink. She was enraged.

"It looks like someone made a big batch of cotton candy right on her head," whispered Jane.

I giggled. That's _exactly_ what it looked like. I had no idea Heidi could be so dim. If there was one thing you didn't do, it was take something from Jane when she didn't like you. She was the biggest prankster I knew, and that was saying a lot considering I knew Felix.

Jane pushed the button for the elevator.

"Heidi, your hair looks wonderful!" I exclaimed. "Who's your stylist? You _must_ tell me."

"How am I supposed to get us food now?" she yelled, throwing her arms into the air. "I. Am. Not. Attractive!"

Demetri chuckled. "You could be a clown, and lure in all the easily entertained tourists. I'm sure you'd be a hit."

She glared at him. "You aren't even angry?"

"Nope," he answered.

The elevator doors slid open and we got in. All three of us waved goodbye and smiled. She glared daggers at us. I had a feeling that she wouldn't let that little prank go, but I wasn't all that worried. She was not good at doing anything funny at all. If anything, she'd probably end up trying to hurt us... but she wasn't very good at that, either. She was mostly there because of her looks, and how easy it was for her to lure in meals.

In the car, Demetri and Jane started lecturing me about the trip.

"Allegra, you are going to be very close to humans on this plane," said Demetri, eyeing me carefully.

"Yes. And you've only been one of us for a short time," said Jane. She was sitting in the backseat, I was passenger, and Demetri was driving. He hardly payed attention to the curving roads.

"And there's really no way to escape," Demetri added.

I sighed. "You guys don't think I can do it?"

"It's not that, it's just that we're worried. I don't want you to be uncomfortable, or anything," explained Demetri. "Do you think you can make it?"

I nodded. "The whole reason I'm _going_ is so I can try not eating humans. It'd be sort of silly to fail before I even start, wouldn't it?"

He smiled. "I suppose so. And remember, you don't know your family, and they don't know you, so you may not get along at first."

I frowned. "But... we're related."

"Just don't hold your breath, Allegra," said Jane. "Actually... maybe you should. The airport is crowded, and we don't need any killings right of the bat, do we?"

When we got to the airport, I realized just how hard it would be to control myself. People were everywhere. On the plane, it was even worse. As soon as I got on I stopped breathing. Jane sat by the window, Demetri sat by the isle, and I sat in between them. They both were holding onto one of my arms.

"Tell me whatever you know about my family. It'll distract me," I said with my last bit of oxygen.

"Uh... your great-great grandfather was a part of the Volturi a very long time ago. He left because he didn't like the diet. He started his own coven, and they've grown quite large over the years. They are the biggest vegetarian coven in existence, followed by one in Denali, Alaska," said Demetri.

"Your grandmother was initially with your great uncle," added Jane, grinning. "She also had a fling with your dad's step-father."

I cocked an eyebrow. It sounded like my real family was rather... strange.

"Name all of them," I commanded.

Demetri frowned. "Wow... that's a lot of people. There is Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Bella, Edward, Emmett, Rosalie, Axelle, Jack, Ansel, and I think that's it."

Strange, and apparently massive, too.

Someone across the plane coughed, and my throat burned. I ate the day before, but that didn't mean I was still tempted. I clenched my teeth and slammed my eyes shut. Jane and Demetri tightened their grip on me.

"It's okay, Allegra. You can do this. Remember that time you were craving sugar cookies, and we didn't have a single one in the entire castle? This is only a little worse than that," said Jane, trying to lighten the mood.

And she was almost right. Sugar cookies were my very favorite food when I was human. Nobody ever got them for me, though, so I hardly ever got to eat them.

Needless to say, the plane ride felt like it was much, much longer than it should have been. It was like every human was a tasty little sugar cookie that I wanted to devour whole. I hated myself for wanting them. They were people, not cookies.

Every time one of them talked, I got a little thirstier. If only they knew how close they were to being killed...

"We will be landing in five minutes. Please fasten your seatbelts," announced the pilot.

I smiled. "I made it."

Demetri beamed. "You owe me twenty dollars, Jane."

I laughed. "You _bet_ on me?"

Jane shrugged. "I thought once I brought up cookies you wouldn't be able to resist."

When we landed, I got excited. It was like everything hit me at once. I was going to meet my birth family. I was going to see my mom, my dad, my _twin brother_. I didn't know if they'd accept me, or even let my try living like them. It was worth a shot, though.

"Allegra, if this ends badly..." murmured Demetri while Jane got our bags.

"If this ends badly?"

"They are a strong family," he said.

"Oh. That kind of badly," I whispered.

"If this ends badly, just know that _this_ family loves you, alright?"

The people in the airport would stop and stare, and I didn't blame them. Demetri was _incredibly_ handsome, and I know I would have stared if I had the chance. We were not very good at blending in when we had to, sometimes.

Jane came back, all three bags in her arms. "Thanks for the help, guys. Ready to get this little adventure started?"

I smiled weakly. "As ready as I'll ever be." I couldn't get what Demetri said out of my head. What if it _did_ end badly?

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	7. Chapter 7

_Meanwhile, a few miles away..._

"Wait, what?" I asked, shaking my head. It was impossible. If there was one thing I _didn't_ have, it was a twin sister.

My mom looked up. "You had a twin," she whispered.

"Had?"

Both of them looked away from me. The only sound was the rain hitting the treetops above us. Neither of them would talk, and my hands started to shake.

"Calm down," murmured my dad.

"Tell me what happened."

Axelle looked down at her lap. It was hard to hear her, and I had to focus carefully on everything she said.

"Your Uncle Edward has always been approached by the Volturi, as you know." They told me about the Volturi a few months ago, and from what I heard, they weren't good people at all. "Aro, the one who can read minds by touching someone, shook hands with Edward. He saw everything about me. I was human, so of course I wasn't allowed to be alive anymore. Edward took me to Volterra, but they didn't end up killing me _or_ changing me. I was pregnant with you and your sister, and they said that they would change me when the two of you were settled." She stopped and buried her face in her hands. Jack took over.

"When you and Allegra were three months old, Aro called. He told us we had to be there as soon as possible. Not a single member of the family was home to watch you, so we were forced to take both of you with us," said Jack.

"Then how come I'm here, and she isn't?" I asked. I was impatient sometimes.

Jack sighed. "Ansel, please. I'm getting to that."

"Sorry, dad," I whispered. I sat on the ground, and leaned in closer.

"Your mom got off the plane first, and she had Allegra. I was just a few minutes behind her, but it was too late. They were waiting at the airport, and they took her and Allegra to Volterra. I got a call from Axelle, and she told me not to go after her. I would have if it weren't for the family. They landed just after we did. Alice had a vision while they were hunting, but it was too late for her to stop us from going to Italy. They were only able to stop me."

"Where do these _Volturi_ people get off? What kind of sick, nasty, rude people would actually do that to someone!" I shouted.

"Ansel, _calm down_."

"No, Dad! I will not calm down!" I yelled. My mom was lying there on the ground, her body shaking with dry sobs, and it was all because of the little _vampire police_. "Don't follow me," I added. I was shaking furiously.

Jack nodded, and threw a thick piece of string at me. "Jeans," he said.

"Be careful," whispered Axelle.

I turned and ran into the trees. I threw off my jeans, and tied them to my ankle. Phasing wasn't painful at all after the first time, and I was actually enjoying the running as much as I could at that point. I didn't know where I was running; I just needed to clear my head.

I was glad to have my thoughts to myself. It was unnerving, having my dad and my grandfather in my head. I couldn't hear their thoughts, so I was pretty sure they weren't running around as giant wolves. I was free to let my mind wander wherever it pleased.

I was too infuriated, however, to think of anything other than the way those Volturi assholes had hurt my mom and my dad. They took my _twin sister_ and from the way they talked, they knew she was dead. They were heartbroken, and I was ready to make someone pay for it.

After fifteen minutes of running around furiously, but with no real purpose, I decided it would be a good thing if I headed back home. I knew I was about ten minutes away, so I wasn't worried about anything... until I heard the voice in my head.

_Stop! _the voice yelled. It wasn't my dad, my grandfather... It was a girl. I was determined to find the person behind the voice in my head, and I would have done it, too, if it weren't for the fact that I was stuck in place. My muscles tensed up, and I couldn't move.

_Uh... growl if you're human,_ commanded the girl. I still couldn't see her. There was something about her voice, though, that was very familiar.

I growled. I figured it would be best to let her know that there _was_ a human inside this wolf somewhere.

From the corner of my eye I saw two girls and a man step out from behind a tree.

"I think I know what this is," whispered the girl that was in my head. Her voice was high, but in a soothing kind of way. Not at all screechy or unpleasant.

The moment I saw her face, I could have jumped up and down I was so excited. Her long, shiny black hair curled ever so slightly down to the middle of her back. Her high cheekbones looked just like my dad's. She was built exactly like my mom. She was my twin, I knew it.

I tried as hard as I could to move, to growl, to do anything! It was my sister. Here... in Forks, Washington. My _twin_! It was unbelievable. Forks, Washington, the most random place in the country, and my sister, who everyone thought was dead, just happened to show up. It was crazy.

The man, who was tall and had dark brown, wavy hair looked at me closely. "Allegra, I think he's trying to... trying to say something."

The other girl, the smallest of the three of them, frowned. "I have us covered, Demetri. If he tries anything... well, anything, I can take care of him."

Allegra, _my twin sister_, looked at me carefully. _If I left you change back into a human, do you promise not to hurt us? Growl for yes. _My throat relaxed, and I could make noise.

I did as she instructed. If there was one thing I didn't want to do, it was hurt her. I felt the uncontrollable urge to protect her, if anything. I just met her, and I hadn't even spoken to her, but I knew that she was mine to protect. All of the years of _not_ being a brother seemed to vanish. I knew what my job was, and how to do it.

She nodded, and I felt all of my muscles relax. I took a deep breath, and forced myself to change. It was difficult, and it took me a minute or two. There was nobody there telling me to calm down, and I was so very excited. When it finally happened, I threw on my jeans, and stepped a foot closer, just so I could look at her better.

Demetri put a hand on her back, and I felt offended on her behalf. I cocked an eyebrow and looked at him. "Does she want you to be touching her like that?"

He grinned. "Is that any of your business?"

Allegra didn't even say anything. Her eyes were transfixed on my face, just as mine were on her's. Her dark red eyes scanned my face. We recognized each other in a way that I couldn't even explain. We just _knew_ we were related.

"You eat people," I whispered.

She nodded. "But you're my brother. You're my brother!" She laughed, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"I am!" I laughed with her. For some reason, I felt lighter, happier.

"Oh, this is Jane." She gestured to the youngest one. "And this is Demetri."

I smiled my greeting, but didn't reach for a handshake. I didn't trust the other two like I trusted Allegra.

"How are you here?" I asked.

"Well... I heard of a clan in the United States that only lived on animals. For some reason, I've always felt guilty, feeding on humans and all. They are people, not food. So I decided to come look. When I found out that clan was actually made up of my family... well," she paused. "I was curious."

"That's an understatement," muttered Demetri.

"Shut up," said Jane, punching him in the arm.

"So, Ansel... is the family here right now?" asked Allegra.

I paused. They were here, but I had no idea how they would take the news. Axelle was _sobbing_ when she talked about Allegra. I didn't know if they'd be excited, like I was, or would go into shock... probably shock. But it was their right to know that their daughter, who they thought was dead, was actually very much alive.

"Yes," I answered. "And I think they would... they would like to see you."

I took her hand, which surprised the other two, and pulled her through the trees. I even heard Demetri growl, but I ignored him.

"Will they like me?" she whispered.

"I think so," I replied.

"Great," she sighed.

I smiled. Even making her a little bit happy made me happy. I'd like being a brother...

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	8. Chapter 8

_Meanwhile, an arm's length away..._

Ansel took my hand and pulled me through the trees. Demetri had my other hand, and Jane was grasping my arm. We were like a train of supernatural beings, and probably looked very ridiculous. I giggled.

"What?" asked Demetri.

He was a whole lot more serious than the situation really required. Ansel wasn't going to hurt us. He was more excited than anything else. Besides, if he _did_ think of hurting us, any one of us could stop him... but it wouldn't come to that.

Ansel stopped and looked at the ground. There was a house nearby, and I could smell at least one person that lived there was a vampire.

"I may... well, I'm going to have to..." He sighed. "Okay, mom and dad think that you are dead," he said bluntly.

I frowned. "I know that. I'll be careful, though."

He nodded, and pulled me forward again. His arm started shaking, and I knew what that meant. Aro had told me what werewolves were just before I was changed. He explained that just before they changed, they started shaking. It only happened when they were angry.

"Ansel?" I asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Can you... can you calm down for me?" I didn't want him to be upset. I'd only known him for a few minutes, but I couldn't help feeling worried about him. I felt like it was my job to make sure he was okay at all times. It must have been a twin thing... That's how Jane was with her twin Alec, but I thought it was something that grew over time. Alec was out taking care of a little problem in the Amazon, and even though Jane knew he was capable of dealing with it himself, she was still a little anxious.

The trees stopped suddenly, and Ansel tugged me onto a huge lawn. The house it belonged to looked like a castle. I smiled.

"That's your house?" I asked.

"It sure is. My dad and my uncle built it," answered Ansel proudly. He crossed the lawn in three strides and pushed the door open. I held my breath. I didn't know what to expect.

"Guys?" yelled Ansel uncertainly. "I found someone that might... interest you."

A blond woman, who looked to be about nineteen, appeared at the top of the stairs. She was beautiful, of course, but in a way that was natural, and not vampire enhanced. A second later, a tall, black-haired man was behind her. They were Axelle and Jack, I knew it. It could see bits of myself in both of them.

"Allegra," mouthed Axelle. "Oh my God... It's Allegra!"

"Hi," I whispered.

She descended the stairs quickly, gracefully, scrutinizing every inch of my face. Jack stayed at the top of the stairs. He looked absolutely shocked. Too shocked to move, even.

Ansel was beside me, still holding my hand. It was burning hot, but comforting. Demetri and Jane hung back. They were just inside the front door. I didn't blame them. I knew that if I were in Axelle and Jack's place, I'd be livid at the Volturi.

Axelle stopped a few feet away from me. Her mouth hung wide open.

"I thought they killed you," she murmured. "But you're... you're here! You're right here!" Her voice got higher with each word. She scooped me into the tightest hug I'd ever experienced.

"No, they kept me alive. Aro wanted to see what my power was, so he let me grow to be seventeen. Apparently he liked my power enough to keep me around," I said into her shoulder. She let me go, but wouldn't take her eyes off of mine.

"You must be angry at us, Allegra. We didn't go in after you," said Jack. He walked down the stairs and stood next to Axelle. He absentmindedly placed his hand on her lower back. His arm was shaking.

"No, no, no!" I exclaimed. "I understand. When we want something, we tend to let nothing stop us."

"We?" asked Axelle. Her face fell.

I looked down at my feet. "I was raised to be in the Volturi, you know."

Ansel's hand trembled, but he still didn't let go of me.

Demetri cleared his throat. "The reason we are here is because we'd like to... to try being vegetarians. The three of us here, and two more that aren't, Felix and Alec, have never really liked to spend too much time in Italy, actually. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, we really are different that you average Volturi members," explained Demetri.

Jane laughed. "You can say that again. You should have _seen_ what we did to Heidi's hair."

"You want to learn to be vegetarians?" asked Axelle, ignoring Jane.

"Yes. Eating humans makes me feel incredibly guilty," I answered, looked straight into her golden eyes. I'd never seen a vampire with anything but red eyes. They looked unnatural.

Axelle bit her lip and looked at Jack. He smiled slightly.

"I'm just so... I don't even know!" exclaimed Axelle. "I just want to squeeze you!" She threw her arms around me again.

I giggled. She was very, _very_ excited. "Surprise!"

"You can say that again," said Jack.

"Should she... meet the family?" asked Ansel. His voice was strained.

"Do you _want_ to meet the rest of us?" asked Jack.

"Oh, yes!" I exclaimed. "But... I don't want them to be angry."

Axelle laughed. "I'm sure they won't be angry at you. We promise to be... good hosts? We've never had to be hosts before, Jack!" she exclaimed.

"How weird!" he laughed.

"This way, this way, this way!" called Axelle, walking around us to get to the front door.

"Uh, mom?" said Ansel.

"Yes?"

"I think I have to go for a bit. I'm not good at this yet," he admitted. His arm was shaking.

"Go ahead," she said. He ran away without another word.

Just a minute later, we waltzed into a huge, white house.

"Unc! Get down here!" yelled Axelle.

A man who reminded me of Felix ran down the stairs. "Who is this?" he asked.

Jack grinned, and threw his arm around Axelle's shoulders. "My baby," he answered.

"No, _shit_?" asked Emmett incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me!" He was looking at me, his jaw dropped.

"She wants to be a vegetarian!" said Axelle, clapping her hands. She was almost jumping up and down, she was so excited.

"But... how did she even _get_ here? Damn, Axy!" Emmett scooped me into a bear hug. "Nice to see you, kid."

I laughed. "So do Demetri and Jane."

Emmett's face fell immediately. "Demetri and Jane?"

"They are okay, Emmett," said Axelle quietly.

He sighed. "We'll see."

A second later, the entire room was filled with people. I met everyone Demetri told me about, except for Edward and Alice. They were in Alaska, but promised they'd be back before the day was out. An hour later, I felt like I fit right in with the family. Even Demetri, who always hand at least a hand on me, was starting to relax.

I learned quickly that Rosalie, my great aunt, loved to be flattered. "I love that shirt on you, Rosalie. The color goes really well with your hair."

She smiled. "I know."

My grandparents, Jasper and Bella, were _ecstatic_. As soon as Bella saw me, she ran right over and gave me a hug.

"I've been waiting for this!" she exclaimed. "I knew you would come back!"

Jasper, who seemed like the most reserved of the family, followed her example. "Glad you're home," he said as he swept me into a hug.

Esme and Carlisle, my great grandparents, were all smiles the whole time. Overall, the family seemed quite excited to see me.

After a few hours, Ansel strolled into the room. He looked ten times more relaxed.

Emmett took one look at him and started clapping furiously. "About damn time you changed!" he exclaimed.

Ansel bowed. "I'd like to thank the academy."

I smiled. I was going to enjoy it in Forks.

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	9. Chapter 9

I didn't go to school for two weeks after I changed. I'd gotten at least twenty phone calls from the coach and my teammates, and they all demanded to know where I was. I told them I had the stomach flu, and they were just dumb enough to believe it.

It had been a hard two weeks. The day after I changed, I almost _broke_ the living room of the big house. I was surprised Esme didn't bite my head off. As the days went on, I learned to control myself better and better. At the end of two weeks, I decided I could be calm enough to go to school without bursting into a giant wolf.

In my first hour class, one of my teammates, Charles, gawked at me. "It's like you're even _huger_!" he exclaimed. I cringed, but didn't bother to tell him that "huger" wasn't a word.

At lunch, my ex-girlfriend Megan approached my table. "Oh my God, Ansel! I'm so happy you're alive!" she gasped.

I cocked an eyebrow. "Of course I'm alive," I snapped. I was very irritable lately. I couldn't help it. Every single little thing made me want to hit something.

By the time my last hour class rolled around, I was positive I was going to snap. Everyone had been saying the most idiotic things, and I just didn't know how much more I could take.

I was one of the first ones in the class, and I made my way back to my desk. Athena wasn't there yet. I was sure she'd put the infuriating cherry on top of the disastrous cake that was my day.

When she waled into the room, however, I realized just how wrong I was. I knew as soon as I looked at her that something had changed dramatically. Right then, I was absolutely positive that I needed her more than I had ever needed anything before. I needed to protect her, needed to help her, needed to kiss her.

I forgot about everything else. I didn't _care_ about anything else. My heart sputtered, and I found it hard to breathe. I didn't know what had happened, but I did know that I wanted Athena, and I wanted her very, very badly.

She swept across the room, and I couldn't do anything but stare at her. Her long, dark hair bounced against her back. She was the epitome of beautiful.

When she sat down, she shot me her usual glare. "What is it?" she asked.

"You're stunning!" I blurted.

Her mouth fell open, and she laughed incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"

I frowned. "No."

She shook her head. "You're going to have to try a little harder than that, lover boy."

"What?" I asked.

"I'm not going to be one of those girls that just plops right into your lap. How am I supposed to know if you're being serious? I mean, what if you ju-"

"Athena, stop," I sighed. "I... I don't even know how to explain this to you."

"Well, good. I wasn't planning on listening," she said, turning her back to me.

"Well, I'm not planning on giving up," I said defiantly.

As the minutes ticked by, Athena's scowl grew more and more pronounced. When there was only a minute left of class, she finally spoke.

She frowned. "I'm really stubborn," she warned.

"So am I." I mimicked her pose.

"Well... fine!" she exclaimed. "Pick me up at seven, then!"

"Fine!" I yelled. "Seven it is!"

"Oh my God! More juice for my novel!" said the teacher.

Athena slipped over a piece of paper. "That's my address. Don't be late." The bell rang, and she left the room as fast as she could.

I grinned at the little slip of paper in my hand. It had her number and her address.

I didn't pay any attention at all during basketball practice. I went through the motions, but there was no thinking involved at all. I was just eager to get home, and then to get to Athena's. I didn't know what I had planned... I'd wing it. There _was_ a place that my dad had taken my mom. I figured that'd work out well. She seemed like the type that would want something outside of the box.

After practice, I rushed home. When I tossed open the door, I was greeted with a giant hug from Allegra. "Hi, Ansel!"

"Hi, Allegra," I said. "I need to shower, get ready, all that jazz."

"For what?" she asked. She followed me up the stairs.

"A date!" I exclaimed.

She grinned. "Have fun!"

I hopped into the shower. While I was washing my hair, there was a knock at the door.

"Ansel!" called my dad through the bathroom door.

"What?"

"This girl you're going on a date with... how do you feel about her?"

"She's only the most amazing person I've ever met. As soon as I saw her, I just knew that I was going to have her."

He laughed. "You imprinted!"

"I don't know what that is, but it would be just swell if you could let me shower!" I yelled back.

I heard him chuckle through the door.

By the time I was all ready to go, it was six forty-five. Perfect timing. I had the food packed and everything.

"Have fun on your date, Ansel," said my mom, smiling knowingly.

"No hanky panky!" said Jane. She was like the annoying little sister that I never had.

"Hands on the outside of the shirt!" exclaimed Emmett.

"Oh, how about just hands off of her?" suggested Jack.

"_Bye_, everyone," I laughed, closing the front door. I all but sprinted to my car. I was so excited to see Athena. I didn't know what it was, and I honestly didn't need an explanation.

I pulled up to her house at exactly seven. I walked to her front door and then rang to doorbell.

When she answered, I had to remember to breathe. Her curly hair was halfway pinned up, and the rest of it hung neatly down her back. The dark green shirt she was wearing brought out her eyes perfectly. She smiled at me for the first time ever, but there was something skeptical behind it. She was still waiting for me to prove myself.

"Bring something warm," I said, smiling right back at her.

She reached for her jacket off of a hook behind the door and then walked past me to the car.

"So where are we going?" she asked when we were on the road.

I looked at her, mock surprise all over my face. "You don't want me to ruin the secret, do you?"

"Oh, yes. I'm _all about_ ruining secrets," she replied.

"Really? Ruin a secret for me then."

She grinned and opened her mouth to say something. She closed it right after.

"You were going to say something!" I exclaimed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she scoffed, looking out her window.

"Athena," I sighed.

She laughed. "I was super jealous of all your ex-girlfriends," she whispered.

"_You_ were jealous of _them_? Have you ever talked to them? Do you know how... how dumb those girls are?" I asked incredulously.

She nodded. "In Biology, one of them asked what a mammal was."

"Oh, ouch," I said. "And you're jealous of them because?"

"Uhm, have you looked in a mirror? Not to mention you actually have a brain in your head, compared to all the other jocks. You're perfect." As soon as she said it, she blushed. "And that wasn't supposed to come out."

"Oh, really? Perfect, eh?" I said, examining myself in the rear view mirror.

She pushed my face, and I laughed loudly.

I pulled over when we got to the path that would lead to First Beach. I imagined it was pretty cold outside, but the sky was clear, and the moon shone brightly.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.

"Secret," I replied.

I pulled her through the overgrown path, careful to keep any stray branches from hitting her. Every once in awhile she'd giggle.

"What is it?" I finally asked.

"We're being so sneaky," she answered.

A few minutes later, we finally got to First Beach. The path was overgrown, and I didn't want to rush Athena. If she fell, I don't know what I'd do, except feel absolutely horrible.

The moonlight reflected off of the water. The smell of sea salt and pine trees permeated the air. Athena smiled. She moseyed across the rock beach to one of the bone white trees near the water. She sat on it, and looked out across the water.

I sat next to her and pulled out two sodas from the bag I had brought. She opened it and took a sip. The slight breeze blew her hair across her face. I watcher her closely.

"You know, I never, ever thought I'd be sitting anywhere alone with you," she sighed.

"You and me both. You know, I _really_ didn't have to try that hard to get you here," I said, grinning.

"I know. I'm not as stubborn as I pretend to be," she laughed.

We talked about as much as we could while we were there. We talked about music, family, movies, school, sports, books, and almost everything else we could think of. She had such a sarcastic, but oddly hopeful way of looking at things. There was no way to describe it.

A few hours after we got there, she shivered. The wind had started to pick up.

I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. It was a perfect fit. She rested her head on my shoulders.

"Ansel?" she whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Would it be... too terrible if I said I wanted to kiss you?"

I tilted her face towards mine, my hand under her chin. "It'd be horrid, actually."

"It's a good thing I never listen to what you say," she murmured.

I brought her face up to mine, and when our lips touched, it was like someone had set fire to my entire body. My hands slowly made their way from her neck, down to her shoulders, and then to her waist. Her fingers clutched my hair, and she pressed her body close to mine. My heart was beating wildly, and I was almost certain I could feel her's. I moved from her lips, and started kissing down her neck.

"Good news," she gasped.

"Hmm?" I hummed.

"I'm not cold anymore."

I laughed against the soft skin of her neck. "I'm glad."

At that moment, I knew one thing for sure. Athena was _mine_ and nothing was ever going to keep me from her.

* * *

**That's a "sorry, I will not be posting until next week" chapter. I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND! 200th time!!**


	10. Chapter 10

_Meanwhile, just a few miles away..._

It was easy for me to hunt animals. I could just tell them to be calm, and then I'd shut off their pain receptors. They died calmly and painlessly, and it made me a whole lot less guilty than I was when I fed on humans.

After Ansel practically ran out of the house for his date, Demetri and I decided to go hunting. Jane didn't come because she was having way too much fun pulling pranks with Emmett and Axelle. When Axelle, Jane, and Emmett get together, they are the ultimate team of super pranksters. I was almost glad to be out of the house.

It was dark outside, and the ground was wet from that afternoon's rain. We were just about to catch something, when the cell phone in Demetri's pocket rang. It was something he never used, so it still shocked him when it went off.

We stopped running, and Demetri fished it out of his pocket. "Hello?" he answered.

"Alec and I are almost there. We'd like to try out this little game of yours." It was Felix.

"It's not a game, and see you then," said Demetri. He hung up the phone.

"Jane is going to be thrilled," I said.

Demetri nodded, but he looked distracted.

"What is it?" I asked, taking his hand.

"Do you realize we've not had a second alone together the entire time we've been here? The only part I'm missing of Italy right now is the library," he said.

It was true. Jane was almost constantly with us, and when she wasn't, another member of the family was. We didn't even have the chance to talk about our kiss back in Volterra...

"You're right," I sighed.

"And we have some things to talk about, yes?" he said, squeezing my hand.

I nodded.

"Back in Italy... you did want to kiss me, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes," I said, looking at my feet.

He laughed. "You're so funny when you get shy."

"You hush," I murmured, smiling.

He cupped my face in his hands. "You are the only one I can talk to about the things that really matter to me. You know what Felix would do if I talked to him about the things I tell you."

I giggled. "Probably hit you. He doesn't like... well, being intelligent."

Demetri nodded. He still had my face in his hands. His eyes flashed to my lips.

"Or if I told him about this," he breathed.

He gently pulled my face closer to his. A second later, however, his cell phone buzzed. He sighed angrily.

"I'm beginning to think this thing was a terrible invention," he muttered.

Before he could say hello, Jane's voice blasted out of the speaker. "They're here!" she yelled. "Get over here already!" The line went dead a second later.

Demetri chuckled. "She _was_ excited."

"If we don't hurry, she'll probably hunt us down... and I don't want to be hunted by Jane, personally." When Jane got excited, she was very prone to overreaction.

Demetri grinned. "I'll race you."

I didn't even reply before running off. I had a very slim chance of winning. Demetri had challenged me to races before, and I had yet to win one.

I was almost to the house, and Demetri was close behind me, when I stopped dead in my tracks. There was a scent in the air...

My throat burned, and I had to fight to stay where I was. I hadn't been a vampire for all that long... and there was blood... close. I took a deep breath and smiled. It was decadent smelling, and I wanted nothing more than to find the person it belonged to. I hadn't eaten in a few days, and the smell was amazing.

Demetri grabbed my arms, but I knew he was struggling too. His hand was shaking slightly.

"Allegra, hold your breath," he commanded. "We're going back." His will-power was much greater than mine.

He pulled me backwards, away from the scent. I struggled. I couldn't help it. I wanted, _needed_, the blood so badly. Living on animals was nice, and I didn't feel any guilt... but the smell of human blood was too much for me to take.

It was only a minute, but it felt like an eternity before we got to the big house. Demetri practically dragged me into the house.

Emmett was the one who saw us first. He quickly wrapped his arms around me, but didn't say a word. I still couldn't stand it. I was maddened by the scent of the blood. I could still smell it. It was not as strong as it was in the forest, but it was still there.

"What the hell?" asked Felix. He and Alec were standing in the middle of the living room. Jane was holding Alec's hand. I hadn't even noticed them there.

"Can you not smell it?" said Demetri, almost yelling. "You forget, she is not as trained as we are at resisting, Felix."

"Do not yell," said Alec. "Remember, it's Felix you're talking to."

"Allegra, please stop breathing," sighed Demetri.

I did as he told, and instantly felt better. There was the memory of the scent, but I tried not to focus on it. I thought of other things, like how a large portion of the Volturi guard were trying out animals instead of people, and Aro didn't even know it. Or about how excited Jane would be now that Alec with us... or even how happy I was for Ansel. He seemed really excited about the date he was going on. I thought about _anything_ that would make me forget the smell.

Emmett felt me relax, and removed his arms from around my waist.

Demetri pulled me towards him.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

I nodded.

He kissed the tip of my nose. "You worried me," he admitted.

Felix coughed. "Uhm... since when do _you_ kiss Allegra?"

Emmett's mouth hung wide open, Jane was laughing hysterically, and Alec was looking at the two of us like we were crazy.

"Axy is going to flip when I tell her," said Emmett, his look of shock slowly morphing into a grin. "Demetri, you might want to watch out... Jack will not hesitate to eat you."

Axelle flew down the stairs, and Jack was right behind her. "Tell me what?" she asked. Nobody answered. "What? What? What?" she asked, bouncing up and down.

"Finally! God, you guys. When I walked in on you in the library, whew!" exclaimed Jane. "Hot!"

I cringed, and looked at my feet. I still wasn't breathing, just to be on the safe side.

Demetri laughed. "Wow... I don't even know what to say to you."

The laughing fell silent when we heard tires screech outside. Demetri grabbed one of my arms, and Emmett grabbed the other.

"Wha-" was all I got out.

Ansel kicked the door open. His hair was messy, and his blue eyes were piercing. His pale face was flushed. "Carlisle! Quick!" he yelled. He was distraught.

And when I saw what was in his arms, I understood why. I knew I shouldn't breathe... but I did.

He was holding a girl, and I could only assume she was Athena. She was passed out, and her clothes were matted with blood. Her shirt was ripped, and her arm hung at a strange angle.

I strained against Demetri and Emmett's hold. The smell was so close... I hated Demetri and Emmett for keeping me from it. The burning in my throat flared, and I thought for sure I was going to burst into flames. They were struggling to keep me in their grasp, but I didn't care. I was thirsty, and there was _nothing_ that would keep me from getting her.

"Allegra, stop," said Demetri, pulling me backwards.

"No," I hissed.

Ansel looked at me, and I thought I heard him growl.

Carlisle ran down the stairs, and all but pushed Ansel out the door.

When it closed, everyone shifted their gaze towards me. They all looked just as horrified as Ansel.

Jane was the only one who dared to break the silence. "At least she wasn't thinking of sugar cookies... Demetri and Emmett would be armless if that's what she was thinking of."

Alec sighed. "You always know how to say the wrong thing at the wrong time."

* * *

**So... I know it's been awhile... BUT! I hope this chapter makes up my long... not... updating...ness. Wow. XD**

**Review, your best friend WILL NOT SKIP FORWARD ON SEASONS OF THE OFFICE WITHOUT YOU!... grr.**

**Now I don't even KNOW WHAT SHE'S LAUGHING AT! sigh.**

**:)**


	11. Chapter 11

_Meanwhile, a mile away..._

I was haunted by the memory. What Athena told me, it was just infuriating.

Carlisle flew down the road with one hand on the road, and another hand on Athena's wrist. He could hear her heartbeat fine, but I was happy he had it there anyway. He didn't say a word. Athena's shallow breathing and weak heartbeat were the only noises in the car. I pulled her closer. I couldn't stop remembering.

"_Why _did_ you hate me so much?" I asked, chuckling. It was hilarious to think that just hours ago we were uncivil to each other. I knew now that I wanted to spend as much time as I could around her. I would spend my entire life with her, even... I just knew I was going to have her forever._

_She fell quiet, and I knew something was wrong. She had been chatting up a storm just moments before. My heart fell, and I pulled her close to me._

"_You were kind of a man floozy," she murmured._

_I frowned. "Well..."_

"_Back in California, where I lived before I moved here, I had a very serious boyfriend." She laughed bitterly. "I even thought we were going to get married. Just when I thought things couldn't get any better, rumors started going around. Apparently, I wasn't the only one he was seeing."_

_She bit her lip, and I kissed her forehead. She was hurting, and I would have done anything to make it better. _

"_I didn't believe it at all. He was so nice, so honest when it was just the two of us. When I brought it up, I didn't mean it to sound accusing. I just thought I'd tell him how silly I thought the whole thing was... he didn't think that's what I mean, though."_

_She stopped talking and a tear ran down her cheek. If there was one thing I never expected to see, it was Athena crying. She was so tough. It was disconcerting, and also very infuriating. Whatever her old boyfriend did, I knew I could hunt him down and kill him. He made my Athena cry._

_When she spoke, it was barely a whisper. "When I left his house that night, it was in an ambulance. He broke some of my ribs, and crushed my arm completely. I had a black eye, and-" She stopped, and buried her face in her hands._

_My entire body shook. The absolute fury I felt was incomprehensible, and I couldn't control myself. Right there, with Athena in my arms, I burst into a giant wolf..._

I was jolted out of my memory when Athena gasped into consciousness.

"Ansel?" she breathed.

My heart flew into overdrive. "Athena, I am so sorry."

She had fainted again, though, and didn't hear me respond. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and squeezed her limp hand.

"We're here," murmured Carlisle.

A very long time ago, Carlisle worked at the hospital in Forks. He had to leave, though, when people became suspicious of his age. He then would commute to Seattle everyday, which didn't take very long considering he drove at the speed of light. That's why I wasn't at all surprised when he knew exactly where to go once we were inside. He didn't even wait for a resident doctor. He just took Athena from my arms, and set her on the nearest gurney.

"Excuse me, sir? Don't touch that," said one of the nurses, tapping him on the shoulder. She didn't see Athena, or Carlisle's face.

When he turned around, she gasped. "Right this way," she said, her eyes lingering on Athena's exposed torso, which was exposed and caked with blood.

Just a few seconds later, Athena was surrounded by doctors and nurses. I kept a hand on her at all times, though. I felt like I had to be touching her at all times. It felt like almost as soon as I saw her earlier that day, I had the overwhelming urge to protect her.

"What happened?" asked one of the nurses. She had a clipboard in her hand, and was tapping her foot impatiently.

I couldn't think of anything to say. I knew that telling her that I morphed into a wolf and accidentally clawed Athena wouldn't go over well...

"He and Athena were out on a late night picnic. A bear came out of the woods, attacked Athena, but left the boy alone," said Carlisle. He said it so matter-of-factly, I couldn't help but believe him, even though it sounded totally ridiculous.

"Well, it is bear season," said the nurse, nodding. She shoved a stack of papers into his hands, and then strode away.

The wheeled Athena down so many halls, I couldn't even think straight by the time they told me I wasn't allowed to follow anymore. The only thing that kept me from going along anyway was Carlisle's restraining hand on my shoulder.

"Perhaps you should call Athena's parents and tell them what happened," he suggested.

I nodded, but kept my eyes on the doors that they had taken Athena through. I didn't actually understand what he was saying until he pressed his cell phone into my hand.

I remembered that Athena had given me her address and phone number on a piece of paper earlier that day, and that the paper was in my pocket. I dialed the number, and held my breath while it rang.

"Hello?" It was a man with a very deep voice. I assumed that it would be safest to call him Mr. Reynolds.

"Hello, Mr. Reynolds. I'm Ansel Black, the one your daughter had a date with tonight..." I paused. I didn't know how to say what came next.

"And?" he asked. He sounded worried.

"I took her on a night picnic, a bear came... you need to get to the hospital as soon as you possibly can," I said quickly.

He didn't even reply. The line went dead.

It was then, standing there with the phone in my hand, and not _Athena_ in my hand, that I really started to panic.

"Oh my God, Carlisle. Will she be okay?" I asked quickly. I sank into one of the chairs in the small waiting area, and put my head in my hands. "I'm never going to forgive myself. This is all my fault," I groaned.

He sat in the chair next to mine. "Just based on what I observed in the car, her wounds are not fatal. She's just banged up. She's lost quite a bit of blood... but we got her here in time," he explained.

I sighed. "When can I see her? I mean, is five minutes enough? I'm pretty sure that's enough," I said, jumping out of the chair. I started pacing in front of the door. I was incredibly nervous... and not to mention guilty. It was _all my fault_!

A few minutes later, a tall man in his early forties strode into the room. "Are you Ansel?" he asked, his voice booming.

"Yes, sir," I said, extending my hand. He looked very, very intimidating.

He grasped my hand and shook it firmly. "I cannot thank you enough for getting her here as soon as you did," he said.

"Oh, of course," I said quickly.

"I need to see my Athena." He looked around for a second. "Nurse!" he called. His deep voice echoed in the hallway.

Instantly, a nurse came bustling into the room. "Yes?" she asked, looking distracted, busy, and tired.

"I need to see my daughter. Her name is Athena Reynolds. This young man brought her in," he said, gesturing to me. He seemed very calm, despite the fact that his daughter had been "mauled by a bear." He was much more calm than I was. I was all but tearing my hair out.

"I'm sorry, sir. You cannot see her right now," said the nurse.

He smiled. "No, no, no. I don't think you understand. I need to see my daughter _now_." He sure knew how to use his intimidating stature to his benefit, too.

The nurse sighed a huge sigh, and then motioned for us to follow. Carlisle told me he'd wait there. The nurse pushed through the doors, and after maneuvering through a whole new set of hallways, pulled us into a rather large hospital room.

Mr. Reynolds frowned as soon as he entered the room. He picked up Athena's hand and kissed it. "Thena, honey," he whispered.

I saw her eyelids flutter. "Dad?" she whispered. She was covered entirely by her blanket. I knew that her entire stomach was riddled with long gashes.

The relief on his face was tangible. "Oh, thank God," he breathed. "That bear... that damn bear got you," he said, smiling sadly.

"Bear?" she asked weakly.

He nodded. "I have to go find that snotty nurse, okay? I'll be back in a minute," he said. He kissed her forehead, and then left the room.

"Ansel, a bear?" she asked.

I stepped forward quickly and gathered her hands in mine. I was just so, so happy that I hadn't... I couldn't even think it.

"It wasn't a bear," she said, her voice gaining strength.

"Athena, please. Don't get all worked up," I said, pressing my lips to her hands.

She ignored me. "It wasn't a bear at all... it was you."

* * *

**GASP! WHAT!?**

**Sorry... xD ANYWAY! Review, your frozen strawberries will taste WAY BETTER!**


	12. Chapter 12

_Meanwhile, at the big house..._

As soon as Carlisle, Ansel, and Athena had pulled away from the house, Emmet and Demetri let go of me.

"Okay, I know you're totally old enough and all... but _really,_ Demetri? Really, Allegra?" said Felix, scratching his head.

"Shut up!" exclaimed Jane, punching him in the arm. "They're cute and you know it!"

"Ow..." murmured Felix.

I looked down, embarrassed that I had tried to _eat_ Ansel's girlfriend, and also got caught being kissed. I knew I shouldn't be embarrassed, but I was.

Demetri took my hand and pulled me out of the house before anyone could say anything else. I thought I heard Jack mutter something about us, but I ignored it. The family told us that as long as were were staying with them, we could use their vehicles whenever we pleased. My mom's car, which was black, and probably very expensive, was the one Demetri chose.

When the door was closed, and we were quite a way down the road, Demetri spoke.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded. "I lost control," I murmured.

"I had no idea that you would react like that. I'm so sorry," he said, squeezing the steering wheel.

"For what?" I placed my head against the window and closed my eyes.

"I just should have known," he replied.

I laughed shortly. "Like you could have known about that... _I_ didn't even know about that." I sighed. "I just am so sorry for Ansel and Allegra. He didn't need to see me react like that."

He grabbed my hand. "Don't you feel guilty, Allegra. This isn't your fault. If it's anyone's fault, it's Aro's, okay?"

"It seems that a lot of things are Aro's fault. The only reason my mom was made into a vampire was because of Aro. He was the one who wanted to keep me away from her... and she's a _great_ mom. You can see it in the way she talks to Ansel."

"That's just the way Aro is. He is very selfish... and he likes to collect things," said Demetri. There was a hint of disgust in his tone.

"Collect?" I asked.

He nodded. "Have you not noticed? Every exceptional vampire, not including the clan here, is a part of the Volturi. You know how Aro treats us. We are more like pets than family members. The clan here _is_ a family... Volterra is like a zoo," explained Demetri.

"And that's why Aro wanted me?"

"Yes. He saw the potential in you the second he saw you. I don't know what it was."

I shook my head. I didn't like the thought of being considered an item. I wasn't some trophy that was going to sit nice and pretty in Aro's massive, and not to mention sick, collection. But when I was with my real family, it was much different. I felt like part of a team, like I was accepted. There was no nasty Heidi or controlling Aro. It was nice.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"A hotel in Seattle. I figured you wouldn't want to deal with Felix. I know he just got here, but I can only take so much of him, really. And maybe you should give Ansel some time to cool down, too," said Demetri.

"Good idea," I said. When I was away from Felix, I missed him like crazy... but when I spent time around him, I just wished he would go away. I had a feeling he and Emmett would get along very well. They practically had the _same _personality.

About a half hour later, Demetri pulled into the parking lot of the biggest hotel he could find. He had a bit of a weakness for expensive things. His credit card, which linked back to the Volturi's _huge_ bank account, was always in his pocket.

"The only things I miss about Volterra are my cars," he sighed, pulling into the valet. He always knew what I was thinking.

As soon as we entered the hotel, people started to stare. The girls would look at Demetri, and the guys would look at me.

One of them even had the nerve to walk right up to me while Demetri got us a room.

"Hey, baby. How would you like to go out with me tonight?" he asked, leaning close to me.

I heard Demetri finish with the receptionist.

"Hey, Demetri!" I called. "This guy wants me to go out with him tonight."

Demetri was by my side so quickly, I was sure it looked very strange to anyone who happened to be watching us. The man's face instantly fell.

"I don't think it would be in 'this guy's' best interest to go out with you tonight," growled Demetri.

"Damn," muttered the man. He was clearly quite afraid. He turned around, and walked away as fast as he could without sprinting.

I giggled. "Poor guy."

He wrapped his arm around my waist. "He's a creep." He towed me to the elevators.

"Which floor are we on?" I asked.

He chuckled. "The top floor, of course." The elevator door slid open, and he pushed me inside. There was one slot for a hotel key, and he slipped ours in.

"Oh yes, of course," I laughed.

When the elevator doors opened, there was no hallway. There was just a massive entryway. Demetri would have gotten the most expensive room available, and of course the top floor would be it.

To the right, there was a counter that extended into the kitchen. It was a very open floor plan. Even the bed was in the main room.

"There wasn't anything _bigger_?" I joked.

"I checked. And Allegra?" he asked.

"Hmm?"

He pushed me softly against the counter. He placed a hand on my waist. "I've been wanting to do this for so long," he whispered.

I didn't even wait for him to make the first move. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. He gripped my waist tightly, and I hopped onto the counter. I wrapped my legs around him. My hands lingered at the edge of his shirt. I was just about to pull it off when... his cell phone rang.

"Damn," he breathed.

"Damn," I agreed. I was beginning to hate the invention too.

* * *

**Review, people will be CUTE!**

**In a manly way, of course...**

**Haaaaa.**


	13. Chapter 13

_Meanwhile, at the hospital..._

"Me?" I asked. I figured playing dumb would be the best thing to do at that point.

She sighed heavily. "Cut the crap, Ansel. It was you. I _saw_ you."

I opened my mouth to deny it, but I realized I just couldn't. I didn't like lying to her. Even trying made me feel a little sick. "It was me," I said, looking straight into her eyes. "But I swear to God, I didn't ever mean to hurt you.

The beeps on her heart monitor started to get faster. I squeezed her hand.

"What happened?" she asked, slightly breathless. "You were there and then you were a... a _wolf_!"

Her dad walked in a second later, the nurse right behind him. I stepped away from Athena and let Mr. Reynolds take my place. Athena's heart monitor still beeped quickly. Her breathing was labored.

"As you can see, she's awake now," said her dad, hiding a grin. "I'm fairly certain that means you have to do... well, something."

"_Sir_, this is my job, and I think I know how to do it," snapped the nurse.

Mr. Reynolds coughed to hide a laugh.

The nurse walked quickly to the machines. "Your heartbeat seems to have gotten a little fast."

Athena didn't take her eyes off of me. She just nodded.

"Well," quipped the nurse, "You can't have that happening right now."

The nurse was there for another five minutes. She left after Athena's dad told her not to put Athena to sleep.

As soon as she walked out the door, he laughed. "If only she knew I was a doctor!" I wouldn't have been surprised if the nurse heard him through the door. His voice really was quite booming.

Athena let a little giggle escape. "Won't she be shocked to see you come to work next week?" Her giggle was short lived, though, and she frowned just a second later. She played with the edge of her blanket

Mr.... or, Dr. Reynolds sighed. Thena, you'll have to stay here overnight. I have to go back and watch Natalia... the sitter won't be there for much longer, and your mom's plane hasn't landed yet."

Athena's younger sister, Natalia, was three-years-old. Her mom had some sort of job where she flew all over the world. It was mostly her dad raising them. Athena told me that she was okay with that, though. She liked taking care of her sister.

Athena nodded. "Go get her. She'll be anxious if you leave her there with the sitter for much longer."

He kissed her on the forehead, and then left the room.

She turned her gaze to me as soon as the door closed. She didn't say anything, and I knew she wanted me to explain.

I frowned and then sat next to her on the bed, careful not to touch her torso. I didn't know what to tell her... I didn't even know what I was allowed to tell her. I knew that I had to keep our existence secret. And if I told her about my dad, I would most certainly have to tell her about my mom... it was going to get messy.

"Can you give me a sec?" I asked.

She nodded.

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and dialed my dad.

"You can tell her," Jack said before even waiting for a greeting.

"Okay," I replied. I snapped the phone shut, and looked back at her.

"Athena..." I started reluctantly.

"Don't sugar coat it, Ansel. Just tell me," she said. However calm she sounded, her heart monitor seemed to disagree. It was beeping faster and faster by the moment. I was genuinely worried for her. I had already harmed her enough for one day.

"Don't sugar coat it? Well... I'm a werewolf," I said, watching her face carefully for any sign of fear or anger.

She glared at me. "Don't joke around with me, Ansel. What happened back there?"

"I'm not joking!" I exclaimed. "It, well, it runs in the family, actually. I could call my dad again if you really desire any more proof." I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket.

Her mouth fell open. "But..." she whispered.

"I know, Athena. Werewolves aren't supposed to exist. But I promise, I _swear_, I will never, ever hurt you again. Please believe me, Athena. I'm just like any other kid. I just happen to turn into a giant wolf when I'm angry," I said, grabbing her hand.

She shook her head. "That's impossible."

I frowned. "You said you didn't want me to sugar coat it, so I didn't. It's the truth. I just can't seem to lie to you."

"But how?" she breathed.

"My family is... odd. My dad is a werewolf, and my grandpa is a werewolf. It has to do with something that happened a very long time ago. I'm not really sure of all of the details. I think being a werewolf, well, never mind," I said, looking away from her.

"No!" she said loudly. It caught me off guard. "Tell me," she said in a quieter voice. She squeezed my hand.

"My dad told me something while I was getting ready for our date. He said something about imprinting... I think I imprinted on you," I admitted.

"Imprinted?" she asked.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what it means. All I know is that when you walked into that English class, I just knew had to have you for my own. I _knew_ that you were mine. I didn't care about anyone else at that point. I still don't. All of those ex-girlfriends are nothing to me. I need you to know that I... I can't have anyone else but you."

For the first time since I had met her, she blushed.

"And I know that it's really, really hard to believe. I understand if you think I'm some kind of kook. Saying it out loud actually made me realize how crazy it sounds," I said, looking down.

She sighed. "If you were lying, it would be _the_ dumbest lie in the history of the lie. I just don't know what to think."

"Yeah," I chuckled.

"I mean, next thing you tell me will be that your mom is a vampire or something," she laughed.

I pursed my lips. She guessed exactly right.

She read my expression and all the color drained from her face. "No," she whispered. "You've got to be kidding me."

"My dad's a werewolf, and my mom is a vampire," I said. I gently took her face in my hand. "But I promise you, Athena, none of my family will ever hurt you. I was raised with them, so I should know," I assured her.

She gulped. "Ansel, if you are lying to me I will not hesitate to rip your pretty little face off," she warned.

I grinned. My Athena was back.

* * *

**Review, I will win the Arthurian Legends fight I just got into.**


	14. Chapter 14

_Meanwhile, at a hotel in Seattle_...

"Hello?" answered Demetri.

I put my head against his chest and listened to him breathe. We were both rather winded... kissing was a lot of work.

Aro was the one on the phone. I could hear his every word with perfect clarity.

"Hello, Demetri!" exclaimed Aro.

Demetri frowned. "What is it you need, Aro?"

Aro laughed. "Can't I just call you to have a friendly chat?"

"Well, you never _have_ before," said Demetri.

"Oh... well, I guess now isn't the best time to start, then, because I do have something to ask of you. I know that you, Allegra, and Jane are probably have a lovely time, but I would like it if the three of you would come back to Italy in exactly two months. We have some things to discuss."

Demetri sighed. "If it were at all possible, we would be there. It just isn't right now."

"Oh," said Aro, exaggerating his sadness much more than necessary. "That's too bad. Are you in any kind of trouble? Because if you are, we could have Felix and Alec out there. I just have to contact them, and I'd need to know where the three of you are, of course."

"No, we're not in trouble. We're just not ready to leave," explained Demetri. He left out that Felix and Alec were already _with_ us.

"Well, I'm afraid this is a rather mandatory meeting," said Aro, getting angrier by the word.

"We can't get there. Sorry," said Demetri. He didn't _sound_ sorry.

"You have to be here. If you are not, we will have to bring you here by force!" yelled Aro.

"Good luck with that," said Demetri.

"We could have you _terminated_!" he exclaimed.

Demetri paused. "We will see if we can make it." He snapped the phone shut and shoved it in his pocket.

It was quiet for a minute. I still had my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Terminated?" I asked.

"Killed," he replied.

"Why don't we just _go_? We could come back here afterwards," I suggested. "It wouldn't be that big of a problem."

"Yes, it would be a problem. Aro would, at some point, touch either you, Jane, Alec, Felix, or me, and then he would know what we have been up to. He would not be happy at all, especially if he found out that Alec and Felix were with us the whole time," he explained.

"So... what are we going to do?" I asked.

"Well, they're going to kill us," he answered. He seemed a lot less worried about it than he should have been.

I pushed him away. "We are going to be _killed_! That's not something to just shrug off, Demetri! He is going to kill us!"

Demetri shook his head. "We have the majority of the guard with us. Besides, I am their best tracker. How are they even going to find us?"

"Aro isn't stupid. I bet he could easily guess where we are. I mean, really, Demetri... How long would it take him to figure it out."

Demetri growled. "God, I _loathe_ that man! We aren't his collectibles, we're real, rational beings! I hate that I got mixed up with the Volturi!"

"Then why are we still with them?" I yelled.

He sat beside me on the counter and put his head in his hands. "You can't just leave, Allegra. If all of us left, they wouldn't hesitate before killing us. We'd be a huge threat to them."

I clenched my teeth. "Then _what_ are we going to do? I don't know about you, but I certainly am not ready to die yet."

He was quiet. I knew he was going over every possible option in his head. "Name every single person in the clan we have here, including the ones in the Volturi," he commanded.

"Well, theres... Bella, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Axelle, Jack, Ansel, Jacob, and I'm sure we could get Edward and Alice down from Alaska. Then there's you, Jane, Alec, Felix, and me," I replied.

"That's sixteen... that's enough," he murmured.

"Enough for what?" I asked slowly.

He turned to me. "You hated living in Italy, didn't you?"

I shrugged. "There were a lot of rules... and I really hate Aro, Caius, and Marcus, to be honest."

"And Heidi?" he urged.

"Yes, her too."

"Is there anything or anyone you even remotely like there?"

I thought back to my life in Volterra. I remember being scolded repeatedly for things I didn't do. When I was six years old, Caius yelled at me until I cried because he thought I knocked over one of his precious statues. Aro was a controlling freak, and Marcus urged him on. The people there were very rude. Everyone thought they were better than everyone else.

I shook my head. "I hate everything."

"Then why is it _there_?" he exclaimed.

I paused. "What are you planning?" I asked slowly.

"All of us in this family hate that place, Allegra. The Volturi has always picked on the Cullen family, and they _hate_ Aro for it. How hard do you think it would be to convince the Cullens to fight against the Volturi?"

My mouth fell open. "Do you... do you think we could do it?" I breathed.

"Yes!" he shouted. He hopped of the counter and started pacing the room. "I mean, think about it! We have two whole months to train! And of course the clan here would agree to it! Think, Allegra! We can finally escape from the Volturi!"

I did start thinking about it... and the more I thought about it, the better it sounded. I would never have to be called back for some idiotic mission. I would never have to abide by the Volturi's rules again. I wouldn't have to be one of Aro's pretty little prizes.

I grinned. "We could do it..." I murmured.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "We could do it!"

I laughed. "No more _stupid_ rules!"

"I know! And that idiotic Aro will be _history_! We could live as we want to, and not have to worry about being part of any guard!"

"How are we going to tell the Cullens?" I asked.

He stopped his pacing. "Well... I don't know. I don't think it will be that hard."

"I don't either. I think they'll actually be glad to hear it. How do you think Felix, Alec, and Jane will respond?"

He grinned. "Oh, I don't think they'll have a problem with it at all."

* * *

**Review, Allegra and Demetri won't plot to kill you.**


	15. Chapter 15

_Meanwhile, back at the hospital..._

"And her diet?" asked Athena. She was just starting to get a little bit comfortable with the idea of my mythical parents.

"Strictly animals," I assured her.

She sighed. "Well, looks like I'm going to be having quite the adventure."

I laughed. "For a family full of vampires, we really aren't that adventurous."

"_Family full_?" she asked incredulously.

I nodded. "My mom's entire side of the family."

"What about my side of the family?" asked Axelle. Athena and I both jumped.

Axelle and Jack pushed the door the rest of the way open. Jack had a bag of food in his hand. Athena fell quiet.

"We thought you guys would _probably_ be hungry," explained Jack. "And we thought that you'd _probably_ be here for quite awhile."

"You're right," I laughed. "I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon."

"That's how I felt. If Jacob and my mom weren't there, Axelle and I would hav-"

"Dad! I don't think I'd like to hear what you were about to say, thanks," I said, interrupting Jack's story. "And I'm pretty sure you don't have to tell it anymore."

Athena started laughing hysterically.

"How do you think _you_ got here?" exclaimed my mom.

I was pretty sure that if Athena were laughing any harder she would have coughed up a lung. "You're so embarrassed!" she gasped.

"Thanks, guys," I muttered.

"S' my job!" said my dad, slapping me on the back.

When Athena finally calmed down, she eyed my mom and dad suspiciously.

"I told her about us," I explained.

"Oh," said my mom. "That's it."

Athena looked down at her lap. "Well, it's just kind of scary," she admitted.

"We've been living the majority of our lives like this, Athena. I know it sounds scary, but you really couldn't be any safer than you are with us. We are basically immune to every real-world danger," said Jack.

"Both of my parents are vampires, and I grew up just fine," said my mom.

Athena frowned. "And they never..."

My mom smiled. "No, Athena, they never tried to eat me."

She laughed nervously. "Oh."

"And since you're a part of the family now, you probably shouldn't be afraid of us," added my dad. He and my mom sat on the foot of the bed.

"A... part of the family?" asked Athena.

"Ansel imprinted on you!" he exclaimed.

"I don't even really know what that means," I laughed.

"You ran off before I could tell you!"

"Well, go!" I said.

"Werewolves imprint on the people who they are meant to spend their life with. It's a sort of unbreakable bond. Sometimes it's a bit of a chore to get the one you've imprinted on to actually be with you, but it's pretty hard to avoid the kind of devotion they give you. You're pretty much meant to be with Ansel forever, Athena," said Jack.

Athena was quiet for quite sometime. The three of us let her be, though. She had gone through a lot in the past few hours. She went on a date with a person she hated, was mauled, found out her date was part of a giant mythical family, _and_ was told she was going to be in the family for the rest of her life.

"So I'm stuck with lover boy?" she asked after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"Yep. Just plain stuck," I replied.

Jack handed me the bag. "Esme made you both peanut butter and jelly sandwiches," he said, grinning.

I snatched it away from him. Esme made _the best_ peanut butter and jelly. She seemed to be programmed to be the best mom, grandma, and great-grandma.

"We're going to go, alright?" said my mom.

"Bye, mom. Thanks for the food," I said, grinning.

As the door closed, Athena sighed. "I'm exhausted."

"And it's all my fault," I said. I set the bag on the side table. I wasn't hungry anymore.

"No, it's not your fault. It's that snotty nurse. I bet she gave me the sleeping medicine just because my dad told her not to," she laughed.

I shook my head. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Athena."

"Stop it, Ansel. I know you couldn't help it, and I know it won't happen again," she said firmly.

"But-"

"No," she said. "I trust you."

I nodded.

She yawned.

"Maybe you should sleep?" I suggested. It was getting very late.

"No," she said. She patted the bed beside her. "You should come over here."

After some minor adjustments, I had Athena in my arms. We had to be careful. If I were to move her the wrong way, I knew she would start bleeding again, and that was definitely something I did _not_ want to happen.

"That's _much_ better than being by myself, actually," she breathed.

"I'm glad you think so," I laughed.

She yawned again.

"Can you sleep now?" I asked.

She nodded.

"Good," I said. I kissed her forehead.

A few minutes later, her heavy breathing let me know she was asleep. I felt my own eyelids get heavy. I knew the snotty nurse would be irritated when if found me asleep, but I didn't mind. I was happy right where I was.

* * *

**I'll be out of town until Sunday, so there will not be any updates for quite sometime.**

**Review, my iPod will not die on the car ride over.**


	16. Chapter 16

_Meanwhile, at the big house..._

Axelle and Jack walked in at the same time Demetri and I did. I felt horrible when I remembered just how terrible I had been to Athena. She was probably petrified.

Axelle stopped me before I could get into the house. We sat on the porch.

"You know that all of us have fallen off the wagon at some point, right?" she asked.

"Well, I think I've had my fair share to be perfectly honest with you," I sighed. "And to go after Ansel's _girlfriend_!"

Axelle laughed quietly. "Do you think we would have let you get to her? There are always at least five vampires in the house. We'd never let you do anything that you would regret."

I nodded.

Axelle got up. "Just don't dwell on it, okay?"

"Okay," I said, smiling slightly.

When we walked into the house, Felix was having a heated debate with Emmett.

"The first Mario Kart is _so much_ better than any of the new crap they've come up with in the last hundred years!" exclaimed Emmett.

"You're insane! Everyone knows that the newest ones have all the best graphics and sound out there! The old one just doesn't compare," said Felix.

I left the room quickly. I knew such a fight could probably escalate into a full blown brawl. Esme would not be happy if there was a giant Emmett and Felix shaped hole in the wall.

Demetri was sitting at the table talking to Carlisle. He grinned as soon as I entered the room. "Hi, beautiful," he said.

Carlisle laughed. "I feel I've aged more in the last thirty years than I have in the three centuries before that. Too many grandchildren."

I gave him a pat on the back. "You don't look a day over twenty-three!" I exclaimed.

"Well, thanks for that," he said, grinning. "So Demetri tells me that you have something to talk to us about?"

I frowned. I had no idea that he would hop to it so quickly. I expected to beat around the bush for quite some time. I sat down next to Demetri.

"Well," Demetri started, leaning forward. "I need you to know that you can trust us completely. In the weeks we've spent here, we've found more love and support than we ever found in Italy. Those of us from the Volturi that are staying here now really do appreciate the hospitality."

"It's my pleasure," insisted Carlisle.

"Your ties with Aro... the Volturi that aren't here right now, they were severed when Aro kept Allegra, right?" Demetri continued.

Carlisle nodded. "I will never forgive him."

"I am going to be honest with you, Carlisle." Demetri hushed his voice. "None of us like it there. Do you know what it's like being treated like some sort of exciting toy? We aren't even living things to him. He collects us."

"What are you getting at?" asked Carlisle.

"With your help, we can finally give the Volturi what they deserve. You know as well as I do that they were the reason that Bella, Axelle, _and_ Allegra were made into vampires. Bella and Axelle were changed without their own consent! They are monsters, Carlisle, and they must be stopped!" he gasped.

Carlisle bit his lip. "That would be taking a huge risk," he murmured.

"Think about it, though! There are sixteen of us! Five of them are _in_ the Volturi. They'll be so surprised and so crippled by their lost numbers, there will be no risk for any of us!" exclaimed Demetri.

I noticed that all talking in the house had stopped. The entire family had been listening, no doubt. I was nervous. I Demetri's plan backfired, we'd be kicked out for sure.

Emmett ran into the room, closely followed by Felix.

"Hell yeah, we're doing it!" exclaimed Emmett.

"I can picture it now..." said Felix. "Ah, how I would love to show him just how horrid he treats us." He grinned.

"I'll go. But if I break a nail, Carlisle, there _will_ be hell to pay!" called Rosalie from her room.

Axelle and Jack scooted in from the living room.

"I'd take care of a million of them for what they did to me," murmured Axelle.

Jack grabbed her hand. "And I'd be right there with her."

"Esme?" asked Carlisle. She ran into the room, followed closely my Jane and Alec.

Esme looked down at her feet. "Of course I'd go, Carlisle." She smiled slightly. "But it's all up to you."

He sighed. "I don't like violence."

Alec spoke up. "You are a threat to the Volturi, Carlisle. He will decide on day that it is time to dispose of you. Why not get to him first?"

"He's been talking about it," added Jane.

"Well," sighed Carlisle. "It seems we should prepare. I will call Bella and Jasper to ask what they think, although I already know what they will say."

The overcrowded room was filled with a mixture of excitement and anxiousness.

Jack grinned. "Hey, Emmett?"

"What?" asked Emmett skeptically.

"I bet you a night with Axelle that I'll get more than you do," challenged Jack.

"Like you'd win!" laughed Emmett.

Demetri took my hand and gestured to those of us that were in the Volturi. We exited through the back door and ran into the forest. We stopped when Demetri thought we would not be overheard.

"You do realize what we are about to do, right?" asked Demetri.

"Kill our boss?" said Felix.

"Basically," I replied.

"Sweet," whispered Felix.

"And you are all one hundred percent positive that this is what we want to do?" asked Demetri.

"I know that Jane and I have talked about it just since Felix and I have arrived, so obviously it is something that is pressing on our minds. And Felix has made it clear how he feels about the situation, so I think we know which side we are going to take," said Alec, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I feel life part of a family here," said Jane. "And I realize now that that's all I've ever really wanted." She looked down. Jane was hardly ever shy, especially around us.

Demetri grinned. "Great!"

"So, when we win... where exactly will we live?" asked Felix, changing the subject.

Demetri frowned. "Well, I didn't actually think of that."

"Could we live with the Cullens?" I asked.

"I don't know," hummed Alec. "It seems like the house is crowded as it is."

"And I wouldn't want to live that close to _anyone_," laughed Jane.

"Don't the Cullens own... basically all the land that surrounds their house?" I asked.

Demetri nodded. "I was talking to Carlisle about it. Bella and Jasper have a house on their land, as do Axelle and Jack."

"Well, then I'm sure we could have a house on their land," said Felix.

"We could pay them, too," said Alec.

Jane laughed. "There'll be a new family moving into the neighborhood."

I smiled. If anyone that wasn't a supernatural being moved into the "neighborhood," they'd be in for a huge surprise.

* * *

**Review, your lip gloss will never, EVER come out in a GIANT BLOB that eats your face.**


	17. Chapter 17

_The next morning, at the hospital..._

Athena and I woke up as soon as a nurse opened the door. It was five-thirty in the morning. It wasn't the snotty nurse, which made me happy.

When she saw us, she laughed quietly. "I don't think you should be sleeping there," she suggested.

I nodded sleepily, and rolled off the bed. It wasn't comfortable, but I preferred it to sleeping in my own bed, as long as Athena was there.

"What's happening?" asked Athena through a yawn.

The nurse swept over and started inspecting Athena. "Well, if everything looks good enough, we're going to let you go home. You _may_ even have to go to school today," said the nurse, smiling.

The nurse moved the blankets to Athena's waist, and her gown to her chest. Her entire torso was covered in cuts. Some of them looked very deep. The nurse glanced at them quickly before pulling the gown back down.

"Your dad brought you clothes yesterday. You can change into them now. Your dad also said that this young man could bring you home," said the nurse pleasantly.

Athena nodded and pushed herself out of bed. "I think I'll need help with my shirt," she said, wincing.

The nurse nodded, assisted her to the bathroom, and helped her get dressed. A few minutes later they exited, and Athena grinned. She had a bottle of pills in her hand. She slipped them into her pocket.

"I'm ready to go!" she exclaimed as cheery as she could.

I put my arm around her waist and held most of her weight. The walk to the car was long, an I felt horrible every step of the way.

"I'm so sorry, Athena," I sighed.

She shook her head. "I'll get used to it, and it's not your fault."

I lifted her into the passenger seat. "I'll take you home."

She shook her head. "I want to meet your family. Your mom and dad were really nice, so I bet the rest of them are, too."

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes," she answered breathlessly.

I took my cell phone out of my pocket and called the big house.

"Hello?" answered Carlisle.

"Hi. I'm bringing Athena home, so will you please tell Allegra?" I asked.

"She and the rest of her clan left a few hours to discuss some things, but I'll call Demetri and let him know," replied Carlisle.

I hung up the phone and turned to Athena. She was looking out the window, grimacing.

"What are the pills the nurse gave you?" I asked.

"Pain pills," she answered.

I grabbed the water bottle that was sitting in the cup holder and gave it to her. She took it, fished the pills out of her pocket, and swallowed them.

"Thanks," she breathed.

A few minutes later, I stopped in front of the big house. I got out and ran to Athena's side of the car. She waited for a long time before offering me her hand.

"Nervous?" I asked as I lifted her out.

"A little," she answered quietly.

"You have nothing to worry about. My family has had a very, _very_ long time to learn to control themselves. They probably will not even notice you, honestly," I assured her.

Esme had the door open before we made it too the porch. She hurried towards us.

"Oh, Athena. Are you alright? Do you need anything to eat or drink? We have many beds that you can choose from if you would like to sleep before school," said Esme. I knew she wanted to comfort Athena physically, but she stopped herself. She knew that humans tended to be a little scared of vampires.

"Thanks," said Athena, smiling. "I am a little tired. A nap would be nice," she admitted.

Esme nodded. "I'll set one up right now." She ran into the house.

Athena pushed me away as soon as she left. "I want to try by myself," she explained.

She straightened herself up, wincing slightly, and then walked up the three stairs and onto the porch. I was right behind her every step of the way.

"Ansel, who's this pretty lady?" exclaimed Emmett as Athena and I walked in the door. He was the only one in the room. I noticed a hole in the wall the size of Emmett's shoulder.

"Apparently I'm lover boy's soul mate," answered Athena.

He grinned. "My God, Ansel, you hooked a good one."

I was still looking at the hole. "_What_ happened there, and who did Esme have to kill?"

"Felix and I started talking about Mario Kart an-"

"Say no more," I laughed. Aside from the family, Mario Kart was the most important thing in Emmett's life.

Esme ran down the stairs. "It's six right now. You don't have to wake up until seven," she explained.

I took her hand and was about to lead her upstairs when Emmett stopped me. "Esme, will you take Athena?" he asked.

"I'll be up in a minute," I said to Athena, kissing her on the cheek.

Esme held out her arms and Athena nodded, skepticism all over her face. She was more than surprised when Esme picked her up and took her upstairs.

Emmett leaned forward in his seat. "We're going to go fight the Volturi. Allegra and the rest of them are going to help us."

I grinned. "It's about time."

"Your mom and dad will tell you more about it later, but I thought you ought to know."

I nodded, and ran up to watch Athena sleep. I wasn't tired at all, especially knowing that we were going to get the Volturi. The hour passed quickly, and I woke her up gently. I had changed and gotten completely ready while she was sleeping.

I showed her the bathroom, gave her a spare toothbrush, and let her get ready. School started at eight, and we got there just in time.

I walked Athena to her first class and promised to meet her afterwards.

After I dropped her off, one of my basketball teammates walked up to me.

"What are you doing with that Athena chick?" he asked. He didn't sound happy.

I glared. "What do you mean 'that Athena chick?'" I replied rudely.

"Nothing," he said, backing off a little. "It's just... she's not one of us."

I shot him a look that would make the strongest man cry, and headed to my next class.

At lunch, when Athena and I sat at a table with nobody else, I knew everyone was looking at us. It was not every day that the most popular guy in school dated the "outsider."

"_Everyone_ is looking at us," she whispered, taking a bit of one of Esme's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

"I'm fine with that," I answered.

She frowned. "I'm not. It's kind of creepy."

I grinned and stood up. I was taller than anyone else at school, so I was noticed easily.

"Hey, everyone! _Quit looking at us_!" I announced. I sat back down, and looked at Athena.

She tried to keep a straight face, but it didn't work. She started cracking up so hard, I thought she was going to faint.

"Oh my God, that was the best," she gasped.

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. I helped Athena up and then took her books off of the table. We were halfway to her next class when she stopped.

"I think I have to res-"

She fainted before she could say anything else. I caught her before she hit the ground. My heart was beating a million miles a minute. I picked her up and strode quickly to the car.

Another one of my teammates stooped to pick up Athena's books that I dropped. "Hey, are you going to be at practice?" he called.

"No!" I replied, picking up the pace. I placed her gently in the passenger seat. We were out of the school before anyone other than that one person noticed anything.

Athena opened her eyes shortly after we pulled out of the parking lot. "Where am I?" she asked.

"You are on your way back to the hospital," I answered.

"No, Ansel," she said firmly. "I'm fine. I was just lightheaded. Just take me home."

I gave in reluctantly.

"My dad isn't home right now, and I have to pick up Natalia from day care at three," breathed Athena, pressing her hands to her head.

"Once I take you home and make sure you're comfortable, I'll call your dad and tell him. I'll pick up Natalia at three," I said.

"No, I can do it," she insisted.

"No," I said. "You are going to stay in bed and rest. You shouldn't have gone to school today."

Athena grinned. "You're so overprotective."

At Athena's house, I took her straight to her bed. She gave me her dad's number, and I called to tell him what happened. He was very grateful that I was there to catch her, and thanked me multiple times for offering to pick up Natalia. He said he would call the day care facility and let them know I would be coming. He also told me that the car seat was in the hall closet.

Athena took another pill before going to bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep. I looked at the bottle, and it said that the pills may cause drowsiness, and are best taken before bed. It explained why Athena was so tired.

At two forty-five, I made sure Athena was sleeping soundly, got the car seat out of the closet, and drove to Natalia's day care.

The woman at the front desk smiled when she saw me. "You must be Ansel. Dr. Reynolds tells me that Natalia has never actually seen you before, but will be okay going home with you."

She pressed a button on the intercom and called one of the rooms. A few minutes later, Natalia walked out. Her dark, curly hair looked just like her sister's, as did her green eyes.

"Hi, Anso!" she exclaimed. "I dunno you, but thas okay." She smiled and reached for my hand. I had to bend down to reach it. "Bye, Teacher!" she yelled as we left the building.

I strapped her into her car seat and then we left. It was quiet for a moment before she talked.

"Anso?" she asked.

I grinned. Anso was a nickname I had never heard before.

"Why is you picking me up and not Thena?" she asked.

I looked into the rear view mirror. She was tying her hair in knots and looking out the window at the same time.

"Athena is a little... sick right now. She'll be better soon, though," I explained.

"Oh, oh, oh!" sang Natalia. "That's not good! Are you going to live at my house up till she is better?"

I laughed. "No, Natalia. But I will come visit."

"Yay! I like you, Anso," she exclaimed.

When we pulled up to the house, another car was in the driveway. I got Natalia out, and then walked in quietly.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hello!" boomed Dr. Reynolds. "Thanks for getting Natalia. I didn't think I would make it back to town in time."

"Of course!" I replied. "If you ever need anything else, don't hesitate to ask."

"You bet," he said. "And Athena was asking for you."

I went upstairs to see Athena sitting upright in bed. "Whew, those pills wipe me out," she exclaimed.

I smiled. "I guess so!"

My cell phone rang. It was my mom.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hi. Carlisle has something he has to discuss with us. Can you be home soon?" she asked.

"Yep! I'll be there soon," I replied. I hung up the phone.

"I need to go."

She frowned. "But I don't want you to go."

I smiled. "I'll be back later." I glanced out her window and spotted a tall, sturdy looking tree right next to it. "Don't close your window tonight."

"Okay..." she said, confused.

I kissed her goodbye, and then headed outside.

"Anso!" Natalia called from the front door just as I was climbing into my car.

"Yes?" I replied.

"Come back soon!" she yelled.

I nodded and climbed into the car. It had been a _very_ eventful day, and it still wasn't over yet.

* * *

**WHEW! That's a LONG ONE!**

**Review, Ansel and all his pale-I-look-like-a-vampire-but-really-am-a-vampire-ness will LEAP through your window.**

**And I know _I_ wouldn't mind that.**


	18. Chapter 18

**This is in Axelle's point of view.**

_

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_

_A few hours later, at the big house..._

"Emmett, we have to beat them," I whispered.

Jack and Ansel were sitting at the kitchen table. They were trying to look as impatient as they possibly could. Emmett and I were at the other side of the room, talking so quietly that they couldn't hear us.

He nodded. "I don't think we'll have any problems with that."

"You suck at trivia," I retorted.

He laughed. "Not as much as they do."

"Good point. Carlisle, we're ready!" I called.

Carlisle would be the one asking the questions. He decided that because we were going to fight the Volturi in a week, we should all do something we really enjoyed until we had to leave. Emmett, Jack, Ansel, and I loved competing against each other, so it's what we decided to do.

Emmett and I sat at the other end of the table, and Carlisle ran into the room.

"Alright, which team is first?" he asked.

"We are!" Jack boasted. They won the rock, paper, scissors before, so they got to go first.

"Okay, Ansel, who was the tallest member of Monty Python?" asked Carlisle. He sounded like the perfect game show host.

We got twenty seconds to answer, and Ansel spent the first eighteen doing nothing but look at the wall. He knew the answer, of course, he just wanted to make Emmett and I wait. Sure, it was fun to compete against each other, but it was even more fun to be irritating _while_ competing.

"John Cleese," he answered with a second to spare.

"Correct!" exclaimed Carlisle. He turned to Emmett. "What is Jasper's favorite character on Mari-"

"Bowser!" he answered before letting Carlisle finish.

"No fair!" gasped Jack. "That's all Emmett thinks about!"

"It is so fair!" retorted Emmett. "Ansel thinks about Monty Python as much as I think about Mario Kart!"

"Next question," said Carlisle. "In France, is it legal to name a pig Napoleon?" It was for Jack.

Jack shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be legal?"

Carlisle frowned. "It is actually illegal," he admitted. "But the other team can't steal, because there was only one other answer."

"Dad!" exclaimed Ansel. "Why didn't you know that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ansel. Sorry for not knowing about random French laws. I'll remember to do some studying," said Jack sarcastically.

"Yeah, you better," snapped Jack.

I tried not to laugh. I had never in my life seen someone get so worked up about pigs.

"Axelle, your turn!" said Carlisle, turning away from the fighting werewolves. "What year was Schnorr von Carolsfeld born?"

"I don't even know who that _is_!" I sighed.

Jack and Ansel didn't know either, so the question was thrown out.

Carlisle shook his head. "He was an artist."

Emmett laughed. "Yeah, Axelle."

"Like you knew," I scoffed.

"Emmett, why was Frank Sinatra referred to as Chairman of the Board?"

Emmett paused, and my mouth dropped open.

"Can he transfer the question to me?" I asked quickly.

"No," answered Carlisle.

Emmett bit his lip.

"You _know_ this one, Emmett!" I urged. "And if you don't I'll be forced to rip your limbs off."

After twenty seconds, the question was passed to Ansel and Jack. Either one of them could answer it, so Jack answered.

"He was called the Chairman of the Board because he formed Reprise Records. It was a nickname that quite a few of his friends used for him," said Jack.

I sighed heavily. "Sometimes I want to hit you, Jack."

He grinned. "Do it, Axelle. Hit me."

"Eww, stop!" exclaimed Ansel. "Don't even start your little fake fights... they make me want to hurl."

I shrugged innocently. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ansel."

"Carlisle!" called Esme. "Will you come here?"

Carlisle smiled. "Game over, Jack and Ansel win." He swept out of the room without another word.

"Ha!" exclaimed Jack and Ansel at the same time.

"And you were all high and mighty," said Ansel, giving Jack a high five.

"They never learn," sighed Jack.

"Fine!" I exclaimed. "We'll just go be losers outside, then!" I took Emmett's hand and dragged him outside.

We ran nowhere in particular. We just wanted to be away from the house. Jack and Ansel would be insufferably excited for the next few hours, and we didn't want to deal with it.

"Where should we go?" asked Emmett.

I thought about it. There was one thing that Emmett and I had never been able to do.

"Emmett, want to watch Mars Attacks?" I asked.

He stopped running and looked at me. "You promise you're not going to... going to get hit by a meteor, or maybe smashed by some sort of heavy object before we watch it, are you?" he asked cautiously.

I shook my head. "I pinky promise."

We decided to watch it at my house instead of the big house. It would let us watch our movie without being plagued by "so there" and "suck it!" Emmett had been wanting to watch that movie with me for almost twenty years, and it was about time.

We decided to watch it in the master bedroom. We sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, and waited for it to start. The only part I had ever seen was the beginning, where the cows on fire run by.

"Isn't that cool?" exclaimed Emmett.

I laughed. "Oh yes, _very_ cool. Cows on fire always means a party."

Emmett would exclaim something every minute or so, just to show how much he liked the movie. When the people were first melted by the lasers, he shouted, "Isn't that weird?"

When Las Vegas was invaded by the aliens, he gasped "Could you imagine?"

And when the president had the creepy alien hand crawling all around him, he whispered, "Sick, right?"

When it ended, he hopped of of the ground and started babbling about how much he loved that movie, and how much he wished he had the thought to go and find Tim Burton before he died. Emmett was always talking about how Tim Burton would be the worlds best vampire, and I found it hard to disagree with him.

I didn't really watch the movie that closely, though. I mean, I understood what was going on, of course. I could process quite a few things at once. I was watching _Emmett_ watch the movie, instead. He was just as interesting, if not more.

Emmett was over a hundred, but he still acted just like a kid. He got excited at the smallest, silliest things, and I loved that about him. I could give him a high five one day, and he'd still be talking about it hours later. Silly as he was, he could be serious if the moment required.

When I was little, I saw a commercial for Disneyland on TV. It was very early in the morning, and I wasn't ready to be awake at all. The one thing that made me want to be awake that early was the thought of Disneyland. I told Emmett, and he took me. It was the best memory I had of when I was little.

One time, when I was about five, we were playing secret spy princess. I fell down and scraped my knee, and I could have sworn he went into super "I need to protect Axelle" mode. He wouldn't let anyone aside from my parents near me for a week.

He let me dress him in a sparkly dress, put makeup on him, and then build him a pillow fort. He didn't get angry, which is enough to qualify him for uncle of the year. And even after my dad took embarrassing pictures, he didn't wash the makeup off because he knew it would hurt my feelings.

When Allegra was kept in Volterra and we had to go back to Forks, Emmett was the one who made Jack and I feel a little better, which was better than what anyone else had done. He always knew how to make me happy, no matter how horrible I was feeling.

He was my best friend.

* * *

**I know that it seems like that chapter didn't have a point to it, but it was really important for _me _to write this. That is all...**

**Review, I WILL FIND THE INCREDIBLES! For it is not in the case, and it is making me sad.**


	19. Chapter 19

_Meanwhile, at the big house..._

I walked into the big house just as I heard Jack and Ansel cheer. I had justs gotten back from hunting. Demetri, Alec, Jane, and Felix were still looking for bears. I settled for a few mountain lions.

As soon as he saw me, Ansel swept me into a massive hug.

"We won, Allegra!" he exclaimed.

I laughed. "Won what?"

"A game!" he answered. He spun me around.

That was Ansel. Always so specific.

"Hey," he said, putting me down. "Do you want to go see Athena with me? I haven't seen her for a few hours, and I don't really like being away from her."

I frowned. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

He paused. "Well, you just ate didn't you?"

I nodded.

"Then let's go!" he exclaimed. "I trust you, Allegra."

It was only six when we left. Ansel looked at me suspiciously as soon as we turned onto the road.

"So how is Demetri treating you?" he asked. His voice was oddly cool. I didn't know what it was, but it seemed like he was actually irritated.

"He is treating me great," I answered.

"If he does anything you don't like, you just let me know," he said, gripping the wheel tighter.

I laughed. "You're so overprotective." I'd only known him for a fraction of my life, but as soon as we saw each other, a bond formed. It was a bond that neither of us could break, no matter what happened. We both had to make sure the other one was okay constantly.

He shrugged. "It's my job."

I smiled. I was glad.

When we pulled up to Athena's house, Ansel sighed happily. I could smell three humans, but I wasn't thirsty.

Jack waltzed up to the door and knocked three times. A girl who looked to be about three-years-old answered the door.

"Anso!" she gasped. "It's been a whole forever since you've been here!" She held out her arms, so Ansel picked her up.

"Hi, Natalia!" said Ansel. "Can we come in?"

"Yes," said Natalia, nodding.

"Mr. Reynolds?" called Ansel, opening the door a little wider.

"Ansel!" he exclaimed from the kitchen. "I'm so glad you're here! Athena was asking for you. She's up in her room."

"Thanks!" Ansel replied. He bounded up the stairs, and I followed. Natalia was giggling furiously by the time he swept into Athena's room. He dropped her on the bed next to Athena lightly.

"Ansel!" exclaimed Athena. She was lounging on her bed, watching TV.

"Hi, babe," he said, stooping down to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

Natalia leaned over to me and whispered, "Eww."

Athena looked at me curiously.

"Athena, this is my twin sister Allegra," he said, gesturing to me.

"Hi, Allegra," said Athena, smiling. "Are you a..." she looked at her sister and stopped herself before continuing her sentence.

I knew what she was getting at. Ansel had told her that there were vampires in his family. I nodded.

She took a deep breath. "Okay."

"Allegra has been in Italy for... for a long time," said Ansel. Natalia was playing with the edge of Athena's comforter.

"Hey, 'Lia?" said Athena.

"Hmm?" Natalia hummed.

"Why don't you go and ask dad if he wants to color with you?" suggested Athena.

Natalia's face lit up. "Yeah!" She hopped off of the bed and skipped as best as she could out of the room.

"Sit down, guys," said Athena, smiling.

"So yeah, Allegra is from Italy," said Ansel.

"How long did you live there?" asked Athena.

"Oh, about seventeen years," I answered nonchalantly.

Athena's mouth fell open. "What happened?" she gasped.

Ansel looked at me. "I don't even know where to start!"

"I don't know!" I laughed.

"Well, there's this family in Italy. They're like the vampire police... and they're not good people," started Ansel.

"_Most_ of them aren't good people," I corrected.

"Wait, what ones are good?" asked Athena.

"Me, my... my boyfriend Demetri." Boyfriend sounded life such a silly word for it. "Jane, the one who raised me, Alec, Jane's twin, and Felix, my big brother of sorts."

"Wait, you're with the bad guys?" asked Athena.

I nodded. "But our leader, his name is Aro, is not a nice man at all. He collects the vampires that have powers he thinks are useful."

"The Volturi has had it out for my family for years. When my mom was pregnant, they told her that she would have to come back after the pregnancy so they could make her into a vampire," said Ansel.

"Why would they do that?" Athena was getting very absorbed in the story.

"She was a human. Humans are not supposed to know the secrets of our world. They are considered threats," I answered.

"But... but I'm a human," she stammered.

Ansel cupped her face in his hands. "You have nothing to worry about."

She shook her head, but motioned for him to continue the story.

"When they called for her, only she and my dad were at home. They said that she had to be in Volterra as soon as possible... and you don't _not_ listen to the Volturi," explained Ansel. "They were forced to take Allegra and me to Italy with them."

"My dad had to stay on the plane because Ansel got sick. My mom got off the plane first, and she was holding me," I said. "We were intercepted by Demetri and Felix. They took me away from my mom, and then changed her. She, my dad, and Ansel were forced to leave after she was changed. There was nothing they could do without getting killed."

"I didn't know she existed until just recently," said Ansel. "But I can't help but protect her. She is my family, after all."

"But why did you leave Italy?" asked Athena.

"Aro is insane," I answered simply. "And after I realized just how horrid he was to my family, I knew I could never go back. We are going to go fight them in a few days, actually. They've been in charge for long enough."

"Wait, you guys are going to go fight them? That does _not_ sound very safe," said Athena. Her heart rate started to rise.

"Athena, I'll only be gone a day. I promise, you will only be alone for a little bit," assured Ansel.

"I'm not worried for myself, you dope. I'm worried for you! I don't want you off fighting some crazy tyrant! What if you don't come back?" Tears started forming in her eyes.

"I'll come back!" he exclaimed. "This is just something I have to do.

"Well, I'm going with you then," said Athena.

"Ath-"

"No," she said, interrupting him. "If you are going away to go fight some crazy people, I am going to go with you. It'll make me feel better knowing that I'm close to you, just in case you get hurt," she said.

He sighed. "I don't want _you_ getting hurt by being there!"

Athena laughed. "Well, I'm afraid we're just going to have to take that chance, because I'm going with you."

He frowned. "Fine, but if you get hurt, Athena..." he left his sentence hanging.

I grimaced. I knew the odds were strongly in our favor, and I knew that nobody was going to be killed, but people were probably going to be hurt, and that was something I wasn't looking forward to.

* * *

**Review, you will get to see the SUPER funny sight that is family members with dialated eyes.**


	20. Chapter 20

_An hour later, at Athena's house..._

About ten minutes after Allegra and I described what was happening to us in Italy, Allegra told us she had to go home and talk to Demetri. She told me to say, though, because she knew I wanted to.

"So what is all this competing stuff about?" asked Athena about an hour after Allegra left.

"Well, it's werewolves against vampires. My mom and my Uncle Emmett have been best friends since my mom was five-years-old. Rosalie, his wife, is almost never around. It really is like he's more of an uncle than a husband, actually," I admitted.

"Athena, I know you're probably having ten kinds of fun up there, but it's time for Ansel to go home," called her dad.

She frowned. "Sorry."

I smiled. "Don't worry. Keep your window open." I leaned in close enough so my lips were at her ear. "I'll be back when your dad is asleep."

I kissed her on the cheek and left the room before she could say anything else.

While I waited, I decided to run as a werewolf for a bit. The feeling of running around, completely free of any of my problems, was priceless. It was the best sensation in the world, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. The speed, the exhilaration, it was all great.

After only a minute of running, I heard another voice in my head.

_Hi, Dad_, I greeted.

_Hey, Ansel. Axelle and Emmett are off doing something together, like always_, he replied. _So I thought I'd run a bit. What are you doing?_

_Waiting to sneak through Athena's window_. There were no secrets when the person you were talking to knew everything you were thinking.

_What _is_ it with this family? We are always sneaking into windows... it's almost ridiculous_. Countless examples flowed from his mind to mine, and he was right... we were kind of creepy.

_So when are we leaving?_

_Carlisle says we should leave as soon as possible... hopefully tomorrow, actually._

_Athena is coming. _I couldn't stop myself, and I knew he wouldn't approve.

_She can't, Ansel. That would be a huge risk._

I ran faster. _I am not leaving her here, dad._

_You're being stupid_.

_No, I'm being selfish. I don't want to leave her here because then I will not see her for days, dad. She wants to come, too. She will be my responsibility, and I think you know how protective I am of her. What if someone told you that you had to leave mom home?_

There was a pause as he thought about not being with my mom for a few days. _Fine, Ansel, but she is your responsibility and no one else's._

I phased back after passing Athena's house and checking that the rest of her family was still asleep. I made sure the tree by her window was sturdy and then quickly climbed my way to the top. It was almost effortless, really. The gap from the tree to her window was only a few feet, so getting in would be a snap. I launched into her room and landed silently on my feet.

When I looked at the bed, Athena was gaping at me.

"Are you crazy?" she whispered. "You could have killed yourself out there!"

I laughed. "Nobody dies from falling two stories," I scoffed.

I sat on her bed, and she reached out to grab my hand. She pulled me towards her. I put my arm around her, and the two of us relaxed there, looking at each other.

"So you can come to Italy," I murmured. "And we're leaving tomorrow... so you have to tell your dad you're leaving."

She smiled. "Great." I could tell she was exhausted, even after staying in bed all day.

I put my hand on her face. "I think you should go to sleep," I suggested.

She shook her head. "No way."

She always had her spirit, even when she was exceptionally tired.

"And why not?"

"Because... because then you'll leave," she breathed.

I grinned. "I won't leave until very early in the morning, just so your dad doesn't find out."

She smiled. "Okay."

It seemed like only seconds later that she was asleep. I wasn't the least bit tired. It didn't matter that I hadn't slept in what seemed like forever. I was content to lie there, my arm wound safely around her waist, and my eyes trained on her face. She whispered little unintelligible words every once in awhile, and sighed often, but never woke up. I didn't move until five in the morning. It didn't feel like hours had passed, not at all. But I knew I had to get up and leave... her dad would be awake soon.

I wasn't away long, though. After going home, showering, and then eating, it was time for me to pick her up anyway.

The door flung open as soon as I pulled into the driveway. Athena was there with an overnight bag slung over her shoulder and Natalia in her arms. She gave Natalia a quick kiss on the nose, set her down, and then almost ran to the car. I waved at Natalia and she beamed at me before she closed the door.

She flung the bag in the backseat and then hopped in.

"We are driving straight to Seattle right now," I said, backing out of the driveway. "What did you tell your dad?"

She laughed. "We are going camping with your family until Sunday!" she exclaimed.

"Great! Did you tell him this camping was going to be an ocean away?"

She bit her lip and tried not to smile. "Not exactly."

"Fair enough." I was going to continue the conversation, but my phone rang.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Yeah, Ansel? It's coach." His voice sounded strange when is wasn't barking orders.

"Oh, hey..." I didn't exactly know what to say.

"Ansel, this is a hard thing for me to do. You know you're our best player, but you just haven't been showing up lately. It's like you've disappeared. I'm afraid... I'm afraid I have to remove you from the team." He sounded much more broken up about it than I was.

"That's too bad," I said, trying my best to sound sad. There was a time when being kicked off the team would mean my world would come crashing down at my feet. Sports used to be my life... before Athena.

"Yeah, just thought you ought to know, sport. It was great having you." He hung up on me.

"I'm kicked off the team," I sighed, tossing my phone in the cup holder.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed.

I grinned. "It's not big deal... it was taking up most of my life anyway."

On the way to Seattle, Athena told me more about her mom. Apparently she was an author who wrote about virtually every exotic place on the planet. She flew all around the world, doing new and exciting things. She was hardly ever home, and sometimes didn't call for days. It sounded like it would be horrible, not talking to your mother for days, but Athena shrugged it off. She had grown up that way, and it didn't seem strange to her at all.

When we got to the Seattle airport, we met the rest of the family inside. We looked like a massive group of very pale supermodels, with the exception of my dad and my grandpa. Edward and Alice flew in from Denali, so all of us were ready to go.

By the time we were seated, Emmett could hardly contain his excitement. We sat in a row of five. Athena sat on the end, I sat next to her, Emmett sat next to me, Axelle sat next to him, and Jack sat next to her.

"We're going to kick ass," said Emmett as quietly as he could manage... which wasn't very quiet at all.

Athena laughed, which made him want to be more ridiculous.

After take-off though, I was out like a light. After staying up for more than twenty-four hours, I was ready for a nice nap. I would be rested and ready for the battle to come.

* * *

**Review, all the jellybeans will taste like Strawberry Cheesecake, and none of them will taste like Black Licorice.**


	21. Chapter 21

_Hours later, a few seats away..._

The closer we got to Italy, the more excited I seemed to get. I couldn't sit still, and I could hardly think about anything other than what we were about to do. Demetri had his hand clasped around my own, and we spent the entire time talking about what the plan was. All of the vampires and werewolves in the cabin could hear us, aside from the sleeping Ansel, and everyone agreed.

Ansel would take Athena to a hotel and then come join us in battle. They'd need all of their forces, so they wouldn't do something foolish like sending a member out to get Athena. Demetri, my mom, Emmett, and I would force our way into the fortress. The rest of them would hold off and stay behind, following only as far as we needed them. There would still be quite a few guard members, but the four of us would be able to get around fine. As soon as we get into the deepest part, where Aro, Caius, and Marcus would be hiding, the four of us would kill them.

As the plane started to descend, I could hear Emmett quietly chanting, "Ass kicking, ass kicking, they're gonna get an ass kicking."

Axelle giggled. "A bit cocky, are we?"

"No such thing," he scoffed.

When we touched down, Demetri gave my hand a squeeze. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, a tight smile playing at my lips. I was very ready, but also a little nervous. I had to keep telling myself that we would win by a landslide. I knew it would be easy to beat them... the most talented members were on our side, but the thought still lingered at the edge of my mind.

Ansel finally jerked into consciousness when the plane touched down. "Michael Palin is Bicycle Repair Man!" he gasped.

Athena laughed so hard, it was amazing she could still breathe. "Have a nice dream?" she breathed when she finally had enough breath.

Ansel grinned. "I just had a dream that I was beating Emmett and my mom again. You know, the usual stuff," he explained.

"Yeah, like usual," snorted Emmett.

When we got off the plane, we told Ansel what he was going to do. He would be lucky to catch the very end of the fight at the most. It wouldn't take us long to defeat the Volturi, not with all of us.

We looked positively absurd as we left the airport. We rented six cars and then headed towards Volterra. I rode with Demetri and Felix. Felix wasn't very excited about having to sit in back, but he got over it quickly. He had a short attention span, to say the least.

"We are going to crush them," laughed Felix. "It'll be so easy!"

I smiled. "You could just sit on them."

He looked at me, instantly serious. "Is that a fat joke?"

I kept a straight face. "Well, you aren't the skinniest now, are you?"

He flexed. "But it's all muscle, baby!" he cheered. "Wanna touch?"

I rolled my eyes. "Do you know how many times I've touched your bicep, Felix? Probably more than I can count to."

Demetri laughed.

"Jealous?" asked Felix.

"Oh yeah, very jealous," said Demetri sarcastically. "I would never want to be caught under those massive arms of yours."

I giggled. I loved the way we got along. I was just sad that Jane and Alec weren't in the car with us. The five of us made the best team. We could laugh for hours talking about nothing in particular. It wasn't often that we got the chance to talk for hours, though. Aro always had us running several missions, so none of us were ever in Volterra at the same time. It was almost like Aro planned it that way. He never liked to see cliques form, and, for lack of a better term, we could be considered a clique. Family would be more accurate...

Demetri drove slower than usual, giving us time to take in the landscape. I had grown up in Italy, but after all that time, it seemed to lose its beauty. It was more routine than picturesque. But, driving through it for the first time in months, I realized that it really was a beautiful place.

When Alice pulled up behind us and started honking frantically, Demetri went faster. Alice was a very impatient driver, and always liked to go as quickly as she could.

The anticipation grew as we drove closer. I was itching to get out of the car and run the rest of the way. I was enthralled with the idea of being free. I had never given it much thought before Demetri pointed it out... I just thought that being ruled over was something everyone went through. The fantasies of being able to be my own person, and not having to report back to any kind of leader, it was intoxicating.

We parked the cars outside the high walls and then entered the city. They knew we were there, no doubt about it. Aro, Caius, and Marcus would be retreating to their inner rooms, hiding away. They wouldn't join the battle. They considered themselves much too important to be involved in any sort of fighting.

Fifteen supernatural beings, all incredibly powerful, would shock the very pants off of the Volturi. Their crippled numbers would give us a huge advantage, and I felt safe knowing that. There was no time for them to gather forces from anywhere else... we were going to win.

All fifteen of us strutted down the street, virtually stunning the few citizens of the city into frozen shock. I imagined it was pretty overwhelming. Fifteen... well, it was a lot. I was just thankful it was slightly cloudy. Fourteen sparkling vampires and two impossibly huge werewolves would be enough to cause them to faint right out of their shoes.

We got all the way past the clock tower before turning into the dark alley. We were met by two new recruits. I hardly remembered them at all, and I actually wasn't all that certain that they were there when I left.

"You guys better stop!" called one of them. It was a man, and he didn't look any older than I did. I could see he was struggling to control himself.

Carlisle stepped forward. "We will give you two a chance to join us," he said calmly. He never liked killing things. "But if you do not, we will not hesitate to dispose of you. We came here to get something done, and you are not going to stop us."

The two of them paused. Finally, the one that spoke before said, "You aren't going to pass without killing us."

Jasper shot from the group like lightening. In a mere second, he had both of them killed. He talked about how he had experience with newborns, and from what I saw, I couldn't doubt him at all.

Demetri, Emmett, Axelle and I slipped past the bodies of the two former guards.

Emmett turned around, a silly grin on his face. "Bye, Rose! Love you!" he called. He blew her a kiss.

For the first time since I had been with the Cullens, Rosalie laughed.

Axelle just looked at Jack. She didn't have to say a word. He mouthed something at her and then she turned around.

Demetri took my hand, and together we kicked the grate off of the sewer entrance.

At the bottom, like we predicted, were another few members of the guard. We ran right past them, though. They barely had time to try and catch us before a member of _our_ family was down the hole. The ones trying to beat us were, so far, impossibly easy.

The muffled sounds of battle echoed down the hallway, but I knew nobody in our clan was hurt. We outnumbered them so far, and I didn't think we'd have any challenges in the future, either.

When we finally pushed through the huge wooden doors that lead to the lobby, Gianna was there, accompanied by three others. I knew them... they were part of the group that always criticized our little group. They were the ones who poked fun at us for being different, and I loathed them for it. The four of us stopped

Gianna looked at Demetri and I. Her gaze lingered on our intertwined hands.

"Oh, how lovely. Freak love," she spat.

My mom laughed sharply. "That's my child you're talking about," she pointed out.

Gianna shifted her gaze to Axelle. "Freak mom, too?"

Emmett roared and charged at Gianna. Nobody made fun of Axelle and got away with it, especially in front of Emmett. In a moment, Gianna's head was multiple feet away from her body. Her two idiotic sidekicks tried to pry him off, but Axelle was there, ripping them to shreds. Demetri and I looked at each other, and then joined the brawl. Arms, legs, torsos, they were all in a pile on the floor in what seemed like too short of a time. Emmett pulled a match out of his pocket and flicked it onto the pile. There were so many ways out of the fortress, I was positive we would have no problems if there was a little fire in the lobby.

As soon as we were sure they were gone for good, we charged to where the elevators were. There were stairs there, also, which were what we took. It would be pointless and stupid to take anything else. I knew that there would be quite a few members waiting in front of the elevator... Aro thought his pets were empty shells of people, and that they didn't actually have functioning brains.

We shot from the stairwell and ran right into the group of four waiting for us at the elevator. In a few quick moves, we had all of them in pieces, just waiting to be burned. Emmett did it quickly. We didn't have time to waste.

"Which way?" asked Emmett quickly. The look in his eyes, of pure elation, it was almost crazy. He was so thrilled to do what he had been waiting so long to do. He was going to kill the family that had made his family's life a living hell.

Demetri dropped my hand and led the way. He was one of the people Aro trusted the most. He knew all the secret inner workings of the building. Some of us only knew how to get from the meeting room to the street.

I was just behind Axelle and Emmett. Axelle reached for his hand.

"I love you, Unc," she said, kissing the top of his hand.

"Love you, Axy." He grinned at her, and I could tell that both of them knew we were going to win.

Moments later, Demetri burst into one of the chambers that only Aro, Marcus, Caius, and their person guard were allowed to enter. It was furnished simply. A plain, hardwood table sat in the center, with three large, throne-like chairs behind it.

The three of them were standing at the edge of the room, each of their personal guards in front of them. Six against four... it would be cake.

"You've been in power for too long," stated Demetri. "And we've come to remedy that situation."

Before anyone could say another word, Emmett charged at Aro. Demetri told me that I was supposed to take care of Marcus' guard.

I crouched down and glared. His guard was tall, intimidating, but I didn't feel the least bit scared. Somewhere inside of me, I knew that I was going to beat him.

I lunged at him and landed just where I wanted to be. I was quick, powerful, and everywhere at once. I ripped at his flesh, making sure not to be even remotely sane. The Volturi had caused my family pain for too many years.

And, in a sick, demented way, it was extremely fulfilling. I was having _fun_. When Marcus' guard was down, I turned my sight on Marcus. It was hard to believe that he was considered powerful. I stalked forward, and was entirely ready to rip him to pieces.

That was before I heard Axelle scream with every single ounce of her being.

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	22. Chapter 22

_Meanwhile, a few miles away..._

"And you promise that you're going to come right back afterwards?" asked Athena. We were minutes away from the hotel she was going to stay at while I went to the battle. I had to hurry, though, because I knew it had probably already started, and I didn't want to miss any of the action.

I laughed. "I promise. What else would I do?"

She bit her lip. "I don't know. Go party because you won?"

I took her hand and gave it a kiss. "I'll be back as soon after the battle as I can be. There will not be any partying, I swear."

The hotel was small, and there were only a few cars in the parking lot. It did look rater swanky, though, which wasn't really surprising. My family never really cared how much things cost. Being loose with money was just one of the things that came with have unlimited amounts of it.

I parked and grabbed Athena's bag out of the trunk. We walked swiftly into the hotel. I wanted to get her checked in quick. I knew that battle had already started, and I wanted to be there. Something seemed a little... off about the hotel, but I ignored it. We stood at the front desk, waiting for someone to help us, but nobody came.

And then, as I looked out the sliding glass doors to the parking lot, I saw someone outside... someone who wasn't human.

I dropped Athena's bags. "Stay here," I commanded.

She opened her mouth to protest, but when she saw the look I gave her she snapped her mouth shut and nodded.

I rushed out the door. The vampire turned towards me and smiled wickedly.

"Hello, Ansel," she said seductively. She was beautiful, even by vampire standards. Her eyes were the oddest shade of purple... like my Grandma Bella's eyes. Bella never absorbed the blood from her human life, which meant her eyes were always red. She wore blue contacts over them, just so she could fool any humans that she ran into.

"What are you doing here?" I asked fiercely.

"Well, Ansel, I'm just dreadfully hungry, and your mate smells simply delectable. I've tested my strength, killing all the humans in that building." She pointed at the hotel. "And I think I'm ready to crack."

"You killed all of the people in there?" I asked incredulously. My hands began to shake.

She smiled apologetically. "I didn't need anyone to see me kill you, Ansel. Anyone besides your mate, of course."

I looked behind me and saw Athena standing at the doors, her hands at her mouth.

"Who are you?" I growled.

"Heidi," she answered.

I knew that name. Heidi was one of the people that Allegra had told me about.

"_How was your life before coming here, anyway?" I asked. Allegra had only been in Forks for a few days, and I was still getting to know her. It was fascinating, talking to her about our lives. We were sitting on First Beach. It was one of the very few sunny days, and Allegra and I were going to make the most of it._

_She shrugged. "It could have been better." She had her legs pulled to her chest, and her chin rested on her knees._

_I frowned. "And why is that?"_

"_The people in the Volturi are not nice. I mean, there's this girl named Heidi, and she never, ever leave me alone. Think of the nastiest, rudest, meanest girl you know and then multiply that times fifty. That's Heidi. She insists on taunting me and yelling at me. She treats me like dirt. It's just horrid."_

"Heidi," I murmured.

"Oh, you've heard of me?" she asked, her hand flying to her chest. She seemed _flattered_ by the fact.

"Yes, I do know you," I said through clenched teeth.

She laughed. "Well, that makes killing you seem a little less pleasurable! But I do have to kill you, you know. That girl..." she trailed off. Her eyes flashed behind me, towards Athena.

"You aren't going to kill me," I said defiantly.

She smiled again. "Oh yes. It seems a shame to kill one such as you. If it weren't for your _smell, _you would certainly look and act the part of vampire. Pity," she said.

My entire body shuddered before I burst into my werewolf form. I had one objective, and that was to keep Heidi from getting to Athena. If I died in the attempt, it would be fine, as long as I took Heidi with me. She would never, never lay a hand on Athena, I knew that much.

Heidi laughed. "Oh, you silly boy."

She moved to my left, slipped to the right, and tried everything to get around me. I would always block her though, with a swift motion in which ever way she was going.

And then I realized there was someone in my head with me.

_Left, Ansel. Right. Dodge. Hit. Right._ It was my dad. He knew everything she was doing as soon as I did, and he was helping me through the battle. I knew that he was involved in his own fight, but it seemed he didn't have to focus much.

And as the seconds ticked by, I found it easier and easier to act by instinct. It was almost like I knew what she was going to do before she did it.I wondered why.

_You're doing what we were made to do,_ answered my dad.

I could see Heidi get more aggravated with every blocked attack. I was on the defense, but I knew I would have to start attacking her soon.

She got fed up. "Don't just block me!" she yelled. "Man up! Try and hit me!" I didn't think that's what she would say. I thought she would want to keep herself nice and pretty.

I smirked. _I wouldn't want to ruin that lovely makeup_, I thought sarcastically.

_Focus_, commanded Jack.

The thrill of my first battle was exhilarating. Sure, I had practiced with family, but we were never aiming to _kill_ each other. I felt a strength that I had never felt before surge through my veins. I felt ten times stronger than I remembered. It was the best feeling in the world.

As Heidi got more and more exasperated, she started getting sloppy with her attacks. Finally, when I did decide to attack, I hit her square in the side. She flew across the parking lot and slammed into one of the parked cars. She was on her feet in a second, charging towards me.

I knocked her back again, though, into a different car, and this time I didn't give her a chance to get up. I bounded over to the car and pounced on her. She shrieked as I ripped the hand that reached towards me from her body.

I was shocked, at first, that I could actually do something like that. Ripping someone's hand off, especially the hand of a vampire, was a fairly hard thing to do, but I tore it off without a second thought. I was more powerful than I realized, and I was loving it. I understood why Emmett loved fighting so much... it was exciting.

"No!" she screamed. She pushed me away from her roughly.

It was almost to easy to get her again, though. She was distracted with the pain from her now handless wrist, that she found it hard to focus on me. I rushed towards her again, this time ripping off the entire arm.

"My arm!" she cried

_Don't even think of Monty Python right now, Ansel_, said my dad.

I resisted the urge to talk back... I mean, it's just a flesh wound.

The rest of the fight was easy. Heidi was practically defenseless with one of her arms gone, and little pieces of her soon joined the pile that began with her hand. Just minutes later, all that was left of Heidi was a pile of burning vampire flesh.

I morphed back into a human so I could throw a match on the pile. I made sure to change by the car, where my bag was, so Athena didn't have to see me without my clothes on. I grabbed a pair of jeans out of the car quickly, lit Heidi's remains on fire, and then turned to the door where Athena stood waiting.

She looked absolutely horrified, and I couldn't blame her. She walked out the door as if she was in a trance. She stopped right outside and just gazed at the small fire.

"Athena," I said quietly, cautiously walking towards her.

She looked up and met my eyes.

"Ansel," she whispered. She swayed on her feet.

I ran forward to catch her before she fell, but she kept her ground.

"Wh-what are the people in the hotel going to think?" she breathed.

I frowned. "Heidi kill them all," I answered honestly.

"Oh," she managed to peep.

"Athena, I need to go fight the Volturi... There is a hotel right down the road, and I will take you there. I just need you to stay there until the battle is over, okay?" I asked.

She nodded.

Less than five minutes later, Athena was all settled in a room at a hotel that wasn't filled with dead people. I kissed her goodbye and then ran outside. As soon as I knew there was nobody watching, I changed into my wolf form and ran towards Volterra.

From what my dad was thinking, everything seemed to be going smoothly. I was at the walls of the city, and I knew that everything was going to end wonderfully... Until I heard my mom's bloodcurdling scream...

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	23. Chapter 23

**This is in Axelle's POV...**

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_Meanwhile, a city wall away..._

I finished Caius and his guard off quickly. It was easy, much easier than I thought it was going to be. I was absolutely positive we won... until I turned around and saw the one thing that would ruin me.

The moment I saw it, my world shattered to pieces. There was nothing at all that could have prepared me for that one second. It was the longest, most agonizing split second of my life. I watched, frozen in horror... everything I knew seemed to fall apart around me.

The memories came at me faster than I could process them.

"_She's too good at convincing people!" _he exclaimed when my parents walked in on him in a dress.

"_This girl's no hooligan, mister,"_ he said when the man at Disneyland wouldn't let me on the ride. He let me tell every woman we saw that he was married.

"_Well, I think we can go even faster next time,"_ he assured me when we went sledding during one of my snow days.

I thought of the picture he had hanging next to the TV... the one of him and me in Mario Kart.

He was there for me when I had the babies, when Allegra was taken from me... he was there the entire time I grew up. He was more than my uncle, he was my best, _best_ friend.

And when I saw him, just a few feet away from me, being torn apart, the scream that issued from my body was the most painful thing I'd ever done. Horror, shock, despair, every emotion I felt escaped from my body with that one scream. I fell to my knees, and clutched at my head. It felt like I was going to implode.

I remembered all the times he tried to get me to watch Mars Attacks... all the times I watched him play and win at Mario Kart. I thought of all the times we had beaten the family at competitions.

First they ripped one arm off, and then the other. The look on his face, the look of utter shock, would stay with me forever. We thought it would be too easy to beat the Volturi... we thought wrong. Aro's guard was very quick, and more trained than any of the others to protect their master. It was foolish to let Emmett try the two of them alone.

It was a mistake we'd have to pay for dearly.

He tried to fight back, but it was useless. His efforts were entirely futile. I could see him try, see him struggle... but I wasn't quick enough to help him.

They threw his arms into the corner, and before I could even move, before I could say goodbye to the one person who understood me more than any other, he was gone. They threw his lifeless head into the corner with the other parts of his body. His shock seemed frozen on his face, but the carefree light that had been there for as long as I could remember had gone out of his eyes. It was all over...

The guard quickly lit a match and threw it into the pile.

I watched as his limbs were engulfed in smoke. As the flames grew higher, my rage grew hotter.

"No!" I screeched. I launched myself at Aro's guard. I couldn't see anything, but I knew that each of my strikes hit home. Soon enough, it was just Aro.

He looked at me then, with the oddest expression on his face. "What a mistake..." he murmured. It was the last thing he ever said. I ran towards him and ripped him to shreds as easily as I would have torn a piece of paper.

I knew that the members of my family were trying to talk to me, but I couldn't hear them.

I slowly approached the corner where Emmett was slowly turning into ashes. I sank slowly to the ground.

"Why?" I cried. I completely fell apart. Tearless sobs wracked my body as I got as close to the fire as I could. "Emmett, why?"

I remembered when he bought me my Little Mermaid outfit for Christmas, when we played Cinderella Undercover, when I fell down and he didn't let anyone touch me for a week. I remembered the way his arms felt when they wrapped around me... soothing, protective, like home. My other half was slowly changing from vampire to ashes.

"_Love you, Axy."_ His last words...

"No," I whispered. "No." It felt like someone had carved a hole deep into my stomach and removed everything. I was missing something, missing a part of myself. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and started to rock back and forth. I closed my eyes. "I love you, Unc," I breathed.

Less than a second later, it got very loud. The first person I heard was Jack. His footsteps got closer towards me. There were multiple conversations going on about what a great job we did. They didn't know what had happened.

"Axelle, what happened?" he asked, his voice strained. He touched my back.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed. "Don't come near me!" I gazed into the fire without blinking. It was starting to slowly die down, and I saw that there was nothing left.

Everyone fell silent.

"Axelle, where is Emmett?" he asked slowly.

I shook my head. "Stop!"

Jack started taking deep breaths.

"He's dead," he murmured. It wasn't even a question.

"Yes," I breathed. I was still looking at the small flames. My uncle, my best friend, my _Emmett_, had been reduced to a pile of ash.

"Axelle..." said Jack, his voice quavering slightly. I knew that almost the entire group was in the room, but I didn't care. I needed space.

"Get out," I whispered fiercely. When nobody moved, I screamed, "Get out of here!"

Nobody said a word as they slowly filed out of the room. One person stayed, but I was too exhausted to care anymore.

"_I'll always be here, Axelle. I'll be here for as long as you need me."_ He has said it on many occasions. He said it on my birthday, when people made fun of me at school, during the fifth month of my pregnancy when I was all but certain that I wanted to explode.

"I still need you," I breathed.

When the last flame extinguished, a fresh sob escaped from my chest. I put my face against the marble floor. There was no denying it... Emmett was gone. I was too weak to even protest when I heard someone sit next to me. I didn't object when that person held me in her arms. There was only one person who had a right to be there next to me.

"I'm so sorry, Rosalie," I gasped. "I couldn't do anything. It was too fast."

She didn't reply for a very long amount of time. She just held me there, stroking the side of my face. When she finally did speak, it was very quietly. "I knew it would get him in trouble. He never thought about anything before he did it." Her voice cracked as she continued, and I felt her chest shudder. "What were his last words?"

"Love you, Axy," I repeated lifelessly.

"Good," she murmured. She put her head against mine, and I knew she was crying too. Her body shook slightly.

"I'm so sorry, Rosalie," I whispered again.

"It's... not your fault," she managed to say through her silent cries. "And Axelle?"

"Yes?"

"Call me Auntie Rosalie," she breathed. She kissed my forehead.

It was the first time she had ever told me to call her anything aside from Rosalie.

I took a shaky breath. "Thank you, Auntie Rosalie."

There were no more words as we looked at what the world's greatest husband, uncle, and best friend had been reduced to.

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	24. Chapter 24

_Two months later and an ocean away..._

Two months after we got back from Italy, Axelle hadn't even started to heal yet. The entire family had, at some point, tried to talk to her. The only one that had even gotten her to respond was Rosalie, and even then it was only a few mumbled words. We were worried about her.

Allegra, Demetri, Jane, Alec, and Felix were in Italy, catching any vampires who came to ask about the disappearance of the Volturi. They were also there to say, even though the Volturi are out of power, there will still need to be a sense of responsibility. If anything gets out of hand, Allegra knew that it fell to us to deal with it. She assured whoever asked that we would deal with it in a much more civilized manor. It was like our family was the new, nice, Disneyified version of the Volturi. Before she left, she tried to get through to Axelle... it didn't work.

It was summertime when we finally got her to talk to us. We were at our house, the one that Jack and Emmett built. Axelle was sitting in the window seat, watching the rain sprinkle gently on the front lawn. Jack was cooking pancakes for us, and I was sitting at the table waiting for food. I couldn't remember the last time I talked... it had been a few hours, at least. I was just glad Athena was going to meet me at the big house in less than an hour.

When Axelle sighed sadly, Jack threw down the spatula.

"Dammit, Axelle!" he yelled. "Do you think Emmett would _want_ you to mope around like this?"'

Axelle turned and shot him the meanest look that I had ever seen. It was like he was suddenly her worst enemy.

"If he were here right now what would he call you?" continued my dad, not at all affected by her glare.

She pursed her lips as she thought. The anger started to slowly melt out of her features. "He'd... he'd probably call me boring," she admitted quietly.

"Exactly!" Jack exclaimed.

She shook her head and turned back to the window.

"You thought Allegra was dead once," I noted. "How did you deal with that?"

Jack sighed. "Emmett helped us a lot," he said reluctantly.

"How?" I asked, not letting it drop.

"He's _Emmett_," growled Axelle.

"Emmett wouldn't want you to sit at home and watch the rain all day," I insisted. "He'd want you to be out having fun _for_ him. He'd be bored silly stuck in here!"

It was silent for an entire minute. It was broken when the smell of burning pancakes permeated the air.

"Crap," muttered Jack.

Axelle stood up and stalked out of the room. When she came back, she was tying her long, curly hair away from her face.

"What are you doing?" asked Jack.

Axelle didn't answer. She walked to the entertainment center, pulled something out of a drawer, and then ran out of the house.

Jack and I looked at each other.

"Where is she going?" I asked.

"No clue," he replied. We followed her, and it turned out she was running to the big house.

She took a deep breath before opening the door. She hadn't been in the house since we had gotten back from Italy. Jack and I watched her carefully. We had no idea what she was going to do, and I was a little bit nervous.

She pushed the door open and walked straight to the TV. Next to it was something I had never noticed before. There was a picture hanging next to the TV. The frame was decorated with mushrooms and stars and banana peels. The picture was of a very small person with long, blonde hair driving in a car, and a _massive_ person driving a car. It was decorated with glitter and stickers.

Axelle ran her finger along it before plopping onto the ground and revealing what she had in her hand. It was a green, see-through controller. I remembered when she got it...

"_Yeah, well I gave your mom the best controller I have ever played with!" exclaimed Emmett. We were at the kitchen table, all trying to one up each other by describing the best presents we had ever given someone._

"_Oh... I think Emmett wins," admitted my dad. "I remember that controller."_

_I laughed. "What's so special about some stupid controller?"_

_Emmett, Jack, and Axelle all looked at me, obviously appalled that I would ask such a silly question._

"_Emmett didn't lose a single game the entire time he played with that thing," said Axelle. "He gave it to me because he said, after years of winning, too much was resting on the controller. He wanted to see if he could win without it."_

_Jack laughed. "And he couldn't!"_

_Emmett shook his head. "Well, I can't take it back now... it's almost cheating."_

"_Like that ever stops you," Jack said under his breath._

_Emmett glared at Jack, clearly exasperated. "Everyone knows about those shortcuts!"_

"Well, are you going to play with me or not?" asked Axelle, turning to look at Jack.

As the game clicked on, the family started to slowly creep into the living room from around the house. Esme, the first one in, smiled as soon as she saw what was happening.

"Dammit, Jack! Stupid banana peels..." Axelle muttered.

"Oh, you hush. You have the magic controller," said Jack, concentrating even harder on the game.

Carlisle was next. He stood behind Esme and had almost the exact same smile on his face. I knew he was elated that Axelle was actually playing a game. It was a dramatic improvement over when he saw her last.

Bella and Jasper came down the stairs, hand in hand, and gazed at Axelle in awe. They knew that when she got upset, she _really_ got upset. They thought that she was never going to get to the point of playing Mario Kart, something that was so entirely _Emmett_.

Rosalie was the last to enter the room. She came in through the back door, after spending all day in the garage. She spent even more time in there than she usually did after we got back. She seemed to find comfort while tinkering with the insides of her very expensive sports cars. She wiped her hands on her pants before sitting down behind Axelle. A sort of unspoken friendship had formed between them. Without either of them saying it out loud, I knew they had gotten closer than they had ever been before.

"Hi, Auntie," said Axelle quickly.

"Hi, Axy. You can beat this clown," said Rosalie.

"Uh, yeah, sitting right here," growled Jack.

"Uh, yeah, Axelle has the controller," retorted Rosalie.

"_Why_ do people assume that she's going to win just 'cause she has that!" exclaimed Jack, exasperated. "I'm good at this game!"

Rosalie started to laugh. "Aww... _pauvre vieux_!" said Rosalie sarcastically. "We're hurting his feelings!"

"You hush!" exclaimed Jack, scowling at the TV.

"I'm winning!" said Axelle quickly. Her fingers ran furiously over the controller.

When the doorbell rang, I opened the door quickly and quietly. I didn't want to distract Axelle or Jack... I knew that would be the kind of thing that warrants a controller aimed right at the head.

Athena and I had grown even closer over the months that followed the Italy incident. When she saw what vampires and werewolves were actually capable of, she was more than a little bit afraid. When I went back to get her after the fight, she was curled into a ball at the foot of the bed.

When I explained to her that all of that power was there to protect her, she felt a little better. When I told her that I would have no _problem_ protecting her, that I would be _safe_ while protecting her, she felt much, much better. I spent a lot of my time at her house, and for most of it, Natalia was there, too. She was, quite possibly, the most infuriatingly cute little girl to walk the planet.

"_Anso?" she asked. It was one afternoon after school. I had gone to pick her up, and we were the only two at her house._

"_Yes, Natalia?" I answered._

"_Do you yub me?" Yub... Natalia's version of the word love._

"_Yes, Natalia." She was up to something..._

"_Then, Anso?"_

"_Yes, Natalia?" It was the thing I said most around her. She was forever asking questions._

"_Can I hab the jelly beans?" She looked at me with all of the cute she could muster, and pointed at the jar on the counter._

"_I'm sorry, Natalia. I don't think you can have those," I said._

_She frowned. "How about you hab three, and then I hab one. And then you hab three, and I hab one again?"_

_So.... I gave her the jelly beans._

"Ansel," whispered Athena, ripping me out of my thoughts. She looked pointedly at Axelle and Jack.

I nodded.

Her eyebrows shot up. "Really?" she mouthed.

I nodded again, slipped my arm around Athena's waist, and then turned to watch.

"Axelle, what the hell? You big cheater!" exclaimed Jack.

For the first time in months, Axelle laughed. "Everyone knows about that shortcut!"

* * *

**I don't even know what to say right now... I don't think I can explain how sort of... overwhelming this is. I've been working on the Twist of Fate series for a year and a half, and there were points when it felt like it was _never going to end_. **

**It's you guys that kept me going. YOU! The readers and the reviewers. I don't know what I would have done if you guys weren't there for me. You are the support I needed to finish this. I love each and every one of you :)**

**I am relieved, but also horridly sad that this is over. If you think about it, Allegra and Ansel are the made up babies of a baby I made up. It's almost like I totally abandoned Twilight in some parts, but I kept it in others. I'm so happy you guys have gotten to know and love my dearest Axelle, Jack, Ansel, Allegra and the rest of my little made up crew.**

**Review, I love you all to pieces. **

**:)**


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